Lucas Baker x Reader: Enigma
by TenebrisMelodiam
Summary: Have you ever wondered what it was like to fall in love with a psychopath? You'd be surprised. Rated M for profanity, and other adult themes.
1. Rescue

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Note: This story will have multiple head-canons within it. It is also based solely on the Resident Evil 7 timeline, and takes place prior to the events of "Daughters."

Trigger Warnings: Bullying, depression, and vulgarity. You have been warned.

=7=

The time was nearing five in the evening. Orange and pink-hued beams of the setting sun dipped inside the near-empty high school, each ray illuminating the shoe-scuffed tile floors in varying shades of bright light. Since most of the faculty had left for the evening, save a few teachers who typically stayed after hours for tutoring lessons and the worn-out janitors, the hallways were nearly silent as you wandered around within them. You had just left your math teacher's room, and you were rather exhausted since you had been studying vigorously with them for your upcoming semester final. Right now, you really wanted to make your way back home and simply rest- you hoped your mother had made dinner already, so you could simply eat as soon as you returned home and then head to your room to relax.

You shifted your shoulder a bit in an attempt to fix the strap of your backpack back into its proper place upon your body, your right hand moving forward to press against the cold, metal door that led out into the streets of Dulvey, Louisiana. As you began to head out of the school, the faint sounds of what sounded like a tussle made their way into your ears. Seeing as how curiosity got the better of you, you made your way down the stairs in front of the school, and then took a sharp left to begin making your way back around the building. As you neared the back of the building, which was often devoid of faculty, students, and staff at this time of day, the sounds of the now-obvious fighting grew ever more prominent.

"Fancy award ya got there, Baker. Who'd ya suck off to get it, huh? Someone as stupid as you could never get an award like that!"

Hearing the gruff-sounding, profane words that were coming just around the next left was more than enough to get your heart pumping. Now, you typically weren't one to dive headfirst into a fight, but you wouldn't hesitate if they started throwing punches in your direction. And, what's more, you most certainly weren't about to stand for egotistical, hormone-fueled bullies. You dropped your backpack off right near the edge of the corner before rounding it, mentally preparing yourself for whatever might happen from that point on. In front of you, you saw a trio of boys digging the toes of their shoes deep into the figure resting right within the center of them. Whoever it was happened to be was curled up into a fetal position upon the ground, simply accepting whatever these boys were doing to them.

"Hey! The hell are you doin'? Get away from them!"

You piped up your command loudly and suddenly, your fingers curling into your palms as you gave the boys the best glare that you could muster. This seemed to catch their attention, as well as the attention of the person on the ground, who peered at you through puffy, squinted eyes. You took this time to look the men over, seeing that two of them were a part of the football team, and one of them was someone you knew to be a member of the basketball team. You puffed out your chest in an attempt to make yourself more intimidating, but there was only so much intimidation that could come from a female, high school senior such as yourself.

"Who the hell are you, huh? And why are you stickin' up for dumbass Baker?"

Baker. There was that name again. Now you knew exactly who was curled up at the feet of these miserable excuses for boys. You furrowed your brows at the men standing before you, and you happened to notice that the victim gave you a small, nearly unnoticeable shake of his head- almost as though he was warning you not to get too close to these people. Your ( _ **color**_ ) eyes glanced down at him for only a moment before you crossed your arms over your chest, and your gaze returned to the three boys still standing their ground.

"You know, I'm normally not one for snitchin', but I'm sure fist fighting a cop would be much more fun, right? I'm sure your coaches would love hearing about how you tried taking on armed officers!"

You reached one hand down into your pocket, flashing your phone in their direction. To further prove your point, you began to punch in some numbers on the phone itself, which promptly forced the boys to make a run for it. You huffed as you saw them round the corner and scurry off down the street, then glanced down at the random numbers you had punched into your phone. You locked the screen, slid it back into your pocket, and then hastily made your way to the side of the man who was still curled up upon the ground.

"Hey, are you alright?"

You tenderly placed your hand on the man's shoulder, which was something that made him flinch slightly whenever he felt it. He realized that pain didn't follow, and he peered up at you through specks of blood that unevenly coated his eyelashes. You helped him sit up, and sighed as you saw that the entire lower half of his face was covered in partially-coagulated blood that was still oozing from his nose.

"Hold on, okay?"

The man said nothing, but watched as you stood up and quickly went around the corner to grab your backpack. You brought it back, dropped to your knees beside him, and then rummaged around within it to find a small package of tissues. You tugged at both sides of the plastic wrapping, opening it up and then pulling a few soft tissues from within. Once that was done, you gently ran the cloth along the bloodied skin of the man in front of you, which he then tried to pull away from.

"Look, I don't need your help, alright? I got-"

"I'm not leavin' until you look more presentable, okay? Now just hold still for a second and let me help you."

Your response earned a low huff from the man, but he stayed still while you continued to clean him off. You tugged a few more tissues from the package, then gently placed them into his hands. You could tell that letting you do this was making him both irritable and uncomfortable, but you simply couldn't help yourself. He looked horrible, and it honestly made you wonder just how long they were planning on beating the absolute hell out of him. You heard him sniff, and he ran the tissue under his nose, his free hand holding the side of his head.

"You're Lucas, right? Lucas Baker?"

"Yeah. What 'bout it?"

"Nothing, really. I just knew the last name whenever they said it. I see you all the time in the lunchroom by yourself."

"Gee, thanks for remindin' me. Real nice of ya."

You realized that your words came off as rather insensitive, and you hastily apologized for it. The man gave a quiet hum to your apologetic words, and you bit the inside of your cheek as you tried to figure out what else to say to him. You then noticed something glint in the sun around his neck, and you tilted your head a bit as you tried to see what it was; it was a medal for the annual "Young Inventor" event that Dulvey High held. Then you understood- that must have been why those boys had been picking on him.

"I-I see you got first place, Lucas. It's just somethin' that I couldn't help but notice."

Lucas ran the sleeve of his sweater under his nose, a long streak of red appearing upon the fabric immediately afterwards. He then hissed as he held his head once again, obviously in pain from the beating he had just endured.

"Ngh… it ain't nothin' special."

"C'mon, Lucas. Can I help you home? I can take you in my car- if that's alright with you, of course."

Lucas sighed deeply when he heard your proposition. In all honesty, he just wanted to go home and lock himself in his room. He wasn't in the mood for all of this, but he had also missed the bus because of what had just happened. Walking from the school to his parents' house would take over two hours, and he wasn't in the right state of mind to do that, nor was he feeling well enough physically. With all that in his mind, along with the pounding pain, he gave a hesitant nod of his head before trying to bring himself to his feet. He felt something wrap around his right arm, and he glanced over to see you attempting to help him up.

"Look, I got it, alright? I don't need th' help."

As stubborn as he was, you were just as stubborn. You knew he was in pain, and you didn't want him to overexert himself getting from here to your car. You stooped over at your waist, scooping up your backpack by the strap and slinging it over your shoulder before beginning to walk back around to the front of the school with your new acquaintance.

=7=

On the journey to the Baker estate, it was mostly silent. You had your radio on, but kept it quiet just in case Lucas wanted to speak with you. Even though it had already been ten minutes, and you were currently on the long, seemingly endless road that led to the estate, you still hoped that he would at least acknowledge you before you arrived at his house. You saw the road narrow up ahead, which meant that you were growing ever-closer to your destination. Wanting to clear the air, you cleared your throat and glanced over at the man in your passenger-side seat.

"Hey, Lucas? I hope you don't mind me pryin', but I'm really curious about why you're always eatin' alone at lunch. Come to think of it… I've never seen you hang around anyone at all, and we've been in the same schools since we were little."

Since Dulvey was a rather small area, there were only three main schools that students attended: Dulvey Elementary, Dulvey Middle, and Dulvey High. It was quite obvious the people in charge of naming the schools were very original, but all sarcasm aside, they were the only schools that existed around the Dulvey area. That being said, children within Dulvey only had those schools to attend as they grew, unless they were sent to a private school or homeschooled by their parents.

"Yeah, I remember seein' ya around when we were kids. But y'know, you could have talked to me a long time before now, couldn't ya? We ain't even been acquaintances for more than an hour, and you're already askin' about my personal life- so yeah, I _do_ mind that you're pryin'."

The words that Lucas spoke caught you off guard, but you knew that he was right. There had been, quite literally, millions of opportunities to speak to him over the many years that you had known of him, but you never took the chance to do so for whatever reason. It might have been that you succumbed to the rumors about him being "strange" and "out of his right mind," or it could have been something else entirely. But, the way that he was acting showed that he wasn't used to people speaking to him, and that wasn't his fault. He had grown quite the reputation for being a recluse, and his childhood bullies had goaded nearly everyone into making fun of him for it. They started rumors when he was younger that he was crazy, and, kids being kids, they all easily began to believe it.

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I just wanted to help, was all. I didn't mean no harm by what I did. I was just tryin' to help."

"Yeah, sure. Look, I ain't the kinda person you wanna be hangin' around, alright? I'm just gonna bring you down right alongside me."

You glanced over at the man, who was still staring out the window and watching the scenery go by. By the sounds of his words, it seemed like he at least cared about how your reputation would be if you decided to start hanging out with him. To you, that was a start. You turned onto the small road that led right up to the Baker mansion, and then stopped the car as you arrived at the front gate. You turned your keys to the left, tugged them out of the slot, and then placed them into your jacket pocket. This brought Lucas to finally look at you, his eyebrow cocked slightly as he mumbled his next words into the sleeve of his jacket.

"What're ya doin'? I was gonna get out."

"I'm gonna walk you to your front door! I'm not just gonna drop you off without sayin' hi to your family."

Lucas audibly groaned at this, but he wasn't in the mood to argue about it. He shoved the passenger-side door open, scooted himself off the seat, and steadily rose to his feet before bumping the door with his hip to close it once again. He shoved his hands into the pocket on the front of his sweater, then shuffled over to the front gate, unlocking the chain that hung around the two middle bars and opening the gate a bit so that the two of you could walk up to the house. Once he watched you make your way through the entrance, he closed the gate once more, leaving it unlocked since you would have to return to your car later in the evening.

As you began to make your way to the entrance of the large house, you realized just how nice it looked on the outside; the grass was neatly cut, and all the hedges that surrounded the outer portion of the mansion were finely trimmed. You continued looking around the estate, only to hear a gruff grunt come from the man who had stopped in front of you. He glanced over his shoulder at you, a rather noticeable scowl plastered upon his lips—you had been so preoccupied with taking in the area around the mansion that you hadn't noticed Lucas had stopped in his tracks, which in turn led you right into his back.

"Goddamn, can't ya watch where you're goin'?"

You were going to reply, but you didn't have a chance before the man returned his gaze to the front of the house and began trudging towards the stairs. You followed, making sure that you were staying far enough behind to have no risk of running into him once again; you didn't want to irk him too much, after all. You heard the slight creak of aged wood beneath your feet as you made your way up the steps of the front deck, and you saw Lucas tug open the screen door that gave way to the main entrance of the estate.

"Now look, Mama ain't gonna take kindly to us gettin' mud all over her floors, so you'd best take off your shoes and put 'em on the rack—you'll see it when you get inside. Don't get none of that mud an' shit on anything else either, or else _I'll_ be the one cleanin' it up."

You listened thoroughly to Lucas's explanation, and then gave a quick nod of your head to show that you understood. With that, the taller male turned the golden knob on the door, then pushed it open to allow the both of you entry into the estate. Almost immediately, an intoxicating scent filled your nose—it smelled spicy, and you thought you could make out what smelled like sausage, but whatever it was, it had an amazing scent. You were about to walk down the hallway, but you remembered what Lucas had said about your shoes; you turned your attention downwards, seeing the bottoms splattered with dark chunks of glistening mud. You stooped over, managing to take off your shoes and place them upon the little rack that held several other pairs of shoes—all of which had various brown splotches on them. The perks of living in the parishes, you supposed.

"Lucas? Is that you sweetheart? You're home a bit later than usual!"

The voice of a woman sounded throughout the halls, and Lucas perked up slightly upon hearing it. He grunted as he managed to tug off one of his shoes, nearly toppling over as he did so, and then tossed it upon the rack right beside yours. While he was trying to tug his other shoe off, he decided that the woman whom had called his name deserved an answer.

"Yeah, Ma! I missed the bus and whatever, so I got a ride home!"

After shouting this reply, Lucas managed to tug off his remaining shoe and chuck it onto the rack beside his other one. You heard footsteps coming down the hall, and before you had a chance to take a step off the welcome mat that had greeted you upon entering, an older woman came around the corner. Her matted, brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that hung over her shoulder, and her eyes were soft and kind. However, upon noticing you, they seemed to light up as she hastily made her way over to you, a smile upon her kind-looking face.

"Lucas, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"

"Ma! She ain't my girlfriend!"

You could feel heat rushing to your cheeks, and you hoped that the dim lighting from the wall-mounted lamps would hide it. However, Lucas's mother had turned her attention to the streaks of red that were running along her son's jacket sleeve, and the bruises that had begun to form on his cheeks and forehead. She brought her hands up, tenderly touching her son's face as her forehead puckered in worry. You watched her run her thumb gently against one of the bruises on his cheek, a soft sigh leaving her lips as she looked him over. She then caught glimpse of the medal that was still hanging around his neck, and her worried expression softened as she took the circular, golden award within her fingers and looked over it.

"Lucas… I'm so proud of you. I hope that you know that."

"Y-yeah, Ma. Just don't mention it too much, alright? You have a tendency to ramble about crap like this."

Upon hearing her son, she laughed softly and then turned her attention to you. Seeing that his mother was now preoccupied, Lucas took this opportunity to head down the hallway and scurry around the corner, leaving you entirely alone with his mother. You saw her glance over her shoulder to see where her son had gone, and then shake her head slowly.

"My poor boy goes through so much, but I know how much he hates talking about it… anyway, pardon my ill manners. My name is Marguerite, and I'm Lucas's mother. I take it you're the one who brought my boy home?"

The woman extended her hand towards you, and you returned the motion, gripping her hand for a few moments as the two of you greeted one another. She seemed like a loving, sweet woman, and there was a warmth in her eyes that was incredibly welcoming. You weren't quite sure what you were expecting before arriving at the estate, but the experience was already proving to be a wonderful one.

"Yes ma'am. My name is ( _ **First Name**_ ) ( _ **Last Name**_ ), and I happened to come across Lucas after school today. He had missed his bus and needed a ride, so I figured I'd help him out."

"Well, thank you sweetie. That was quite nice of you. Now, I know that Lucas probably won't tell me, but do you know what happened to him?"

"Just some egotistical jocks at our school. They were messin' with him because of that award he got. I found them beatin' him behind the school, and I wasn't about to let them keep goin'."

This answer made Marguerite sigh audibly, and she folded her arms across her chest as she looked back towards the hallway that Lucas had vanished into only moments ago. She tapped her index finger upon her forearm, and then clicked her tongue before looking back at you.

"How would you like to stay here for dinner, dear? It's the very least I can do for you for helpin' my boy. We're havin' jambalaya—and I can say that my recipe is one of the best in these parts."

With the last word she spoke, the older woman gave a wink of her eye as her lips curled into a smile. You couldn't help the laugh that passed your lips, but your attention soon turned to a loud metallic screech that was coming from the opposite end of the house. This sound seemed to catch Marguerite's attention too, and she inhaled deeply before dropping her once-folded arms to her sides and walking to the bend in the hallway.

"That darn garage door always does make such a racket… but, that's the one way I have of knowin' whenever my Jack gets home. C'mon, sweetie—I'm sure that my husband would love to meet you."

She gestured for you to follow her before she took off down the hall, and you eagerly paced after her down the window-lined hallway. When you got to another bend in the hall, you heard a man's voice come from within what you presumed to be the kitchen.

"Remind me to buy some things to fix that garage door, Marguerite. It'll be a project for Lucas and I to get done; it's been a good while since he and I have had any father son time together."

"I think that'll be a good thing for the two of you to do. Speakin' of Lucas, he had a bit of trouble again at school today."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Well, those boys have been pickin' on him again. He came home today with bruises on his face and blood all over his jacket. But… I think he _finally_ managed to make a friend today because of it, Jack. When he came home, he brought this wonderful girl with him. From what I've seen of her, she's kind-mannered, and my gut tells me she's got a good head on her shoulders—and for her to be able to goad Lucas into ridin' home with her, she's gotta be pretty persistent. Heaven knows our boy is as stubborn as a mule."

"Well, I'd like to meet this girl. It'd be nice to give her my personal thanks for helpin' our boy."

Now seeing this as a proper opportunity, you walked to the door that led into the kitchen, gently pushing it open to make your way inside. Upon entering, you saw Marguerite leaning against the counter beside the stove, her arms once again folded across her chest as she turned her head to look at you. Behind the bar-like counter just across from her stood an older man, his facial hair littered with grey and white strands of time and age. His face was stern, but upon seeing you, it seemed as though his expression softened a bit.

"Well, well, well… speak of the devil. I take it you're the girl that my wife has been tellin' me about, hm?"

You watched the man walk around the counter and come to a halt right in front of you, and you gave a quick nod of your head as you made eye-contact with him. There was a feeling of intimidation that you got from him, but that was most likely coming from the rather stern exterior that he wore upon his face—perhaps once you properly introduced yourselves to each other, that feeling would fade. At least, that's what you hoped would happen.

"If you mean to ask if I'm the one who brought Lucas home today, sir, then you would be correct."

"Sir, huh? You were right, Marguerite. This one knows her manners."

A smile crossed his lips as he pat your shoulder twice, and he then extended a hand forward, just as Marguerite had a while ago upon first meeting you. You returned the gesture, taking his hand within your own and giving it a firm shake. This seemed to please him, seeing as the grin upon his lips only grew wider and more welcoming.

"Damn, she can even give one hell of a proper handshake! My name is Jack Baker, lil' lady. What might your name be?"

"( _ **First Name**_ ) ( _ **Last Name**_ ), Mr. Baker. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"No, no. The pleasure is all mine, ( _ **Name**_ ). I'd like to thank you for helpin' our son out, today. I've been houndin' that damn school for months now tryin' to get them to take care of the kids messin' with our boy, but I doubt they're gonna do anythin' about it. So, thank you."

You grinned, giving another quick nod of your head. This family was turning out to be incredibly sweet, and that was something that you were more than happy to learn. You felt a gentle hand come to rest on your shoulder, and you turned your head to see Marguerite gesturing towards the dining room table with her free hand.

"Go ahead and sit down, sweetie. I'll dish you up some supper."

You followed her instructions and walked over to the table, pulling out one of the chairs and plopping down within it. You listened as Jack and Marguerite continued to talk about various things, such as where someone named "Zoe" was, and whether or not they needed more milk. Eventually, you heard Marguerite ask Jack to go and get Lucas from upstairs, and he made his way out of the kitchen. Not soon after, Marguerite placed a large bowl in front of you and then three others around the table. Once she was done, she took a seat to the left of you, a smile still plastered upon her face. She parted her lips to say something, but was interrupted by Jack and Lucas entering the dining room through the double doors to the left of the table.

"I take it Zoe ain't comin' to dinner?"

"No, Lucas. She's spendin' the night with her friend this evening, remember?"

You watched as Lucas flopped down on the chair beside you rather inelegantly, the wooden floor beneath him crying out as the chair legs scraped against it. This earned a sigh from his mother, and a glare from his father—both of which made the boy immediately sit up and avert his gaze from them. All was silent for a moment, but it was broken when Marguerite cleared her throat and grabbed her husband's hand, then used her other one to tenderly take your own. You cocked your head in slight confusion, but then realized that she was going to say grace before partaking in dinner. You glanced over at Lucas, seeing him give a look of defeat as he reluctantly grabbed your hand. You could have sworn you saw a faint pink dust his bruised face, but you figured it was just the lighting of the room at the time.

*"Lord, bless this food that we dine on this evening, and allow our bodies to use it in the best way possible. Thank you for sendin' this young woman into our son's life today, and thank you for allowing us to eat together as a family tonight. Amen."

You, Jack, and Lucas all gave a quiet 'amen' after Marguerite finished her prayer, and the quiet clinking of metal against the bowls began to resound within the room as everyone began partaking in the meal that had been prepared. As it turned out, Marguerite hadn't been kidding when she said her jambalaya recipe was one of the best—it was a delight to your taste buds, and each bite that you took seemed almost too good to be true. She truly was a wonderful cook, and you thought Lucas was pretty lucky to have a mother who could make such angelic food. You glanced up as you heard Jack clear his throat, and his eyes glanced up to meet your own before he began to speak.

"So… Lucas, is this young lady goin' to be comin' over more often after tonight? After all, you ain't had friends over here since you were little. I think it might be a nice change."

"Ugh… Dad, she just drove me home cause I missed the bus. That's all! You guys are makin' it into some big deal when it really ain't nothin' to be worryin' about."

You glanced over at Lucas, who ended his sentence by shoving a rather large forkful of his meal into his mouth. You decided that now might be a good time to interject your say, so you took another bit before speaking your turn.

"I personally wouldn't mind comin' over here again, Mr. Baker. Your family is wonderful, and I would love to get to know everyone better!"

"See? Now that's the spirit right there!"

Jack looked over at his son, who gave a quiet sigh before poking at the food within his bowl. Dinner was rather silent after that exchange, save the small conversations that Jack and Marguerite had about this Zoe person and a couple of other things. Once everyone had finished eating, you decided to help Marguerite with the dishes while Jack went out into the hallway to talk with his son. Whilst you were running a warm cloth over the dishes to rid them of any left over grime, you heard Marguerite hum softly to herself whilst drying off one of the dishes you had finished cleaning.

"Y'know, my boy has always been incredibly gifted when it comes to makin' things. Jack and I decided to let him use the barn-house as his own little getaway, and we can always hear him workin' on things in there. He ain't ever been very social… but he has a wonderful mind."

You gave a soft smile as you listened to the older woman—hearing her praise her son was pretty wonderful, and it made you happy to know that Lucas had both a mother and father who cared dearly about him. Once the dishes had been finished up, and you had received a thank you from Marguerite in the form of a tight, motherly hug, you were escorted to the front door by the whole family. You grabbed your shoes from the rack, slipping them onto your feet before turning back to face Jack and Marguerite.

"Thank you for all that you did for me this evening, Mr. and Mrs. Baker. It really was a wonderful night, and the meal was delicious. Meeting you guys made my day."

"No, no sweetie. Thank you for comin' over and bringin' out boy home! We hope that we can see you again real soon. Don't you be a stranger now, dear."

You smiled at the woman, then noticed that Jack had nudged his son forward in an attempt to make him walk you to your car. He gave a reluctant sigh, but grabbed his shoes and slipped them onto his feet before opening the front door for you. You grinned at him, pacing out into the chilly night air and down the pathway that led to the front gate that was still unlocked. Once there, you opened the gate with a loud, metallic creak, and then walked to the driver side of your vehicle. You were rather surprised to see that Lucas had followed you all the way down, and he cleared his throat before holding out his hand- clasped between his thumb and forefinger was a small piece of paper.

"My uh… Dad said to give this to you. Just don't get into the habit of abusin' it too much, alright? I don't want my ass gettin' woken up at four in the mornin'."

You reached out and tugged the paper out from between his fingers, and immediately noticed that a phone number was scrawled upon it. Now his previous words made much more sense! You stared at the paper for a moment, then looked back up at him and gave a tiny smile.

"Well, now I feel obligated to give you mine. Here…"

You opened the door to your car, scavenging around for a small notebook that you typically kept within your glovebox in case of emergencies like this. Once you had managed to find it, you grabbed a pen from within your center console and hastily scribbled your phone number down onto it. Turning back to Lucas, you held it out to him and watched as he slowly took it from you.

"There you go!"

He stared down at for a moment in what almost seemed like bewilderment, but then shook his head slightly and cleared his throat.

"Y-yeah. Anyway, you better get goin.' I guess I'll see ya at school or somethin' tomorrow."

He brought one hand behind his head to sheepishly rub at the back of his neck, and you gave a quiet giggle before ducking down into the seat of your car. You shoved your key into the ignition and turned it, hearing the rev of your engine as it came to life. Your ( _ **color**_ ) eyes followed Lucas as he walked back past the gate, then up to the front door of his house after making sure the lock was secured around the gate. With that, you backed away from the estate, turned around, and began making your way back down the long road towards your own home.

=7=

You sighed deeply as you took off your bra, tossing into some unknown corner or your room; God did it feel good to finally take that thing off after a long day. Not even caring to change into your pajamas, you flopped down tiredly onto your plush bed and cuddled one of your pillows. It was nice to finally be back in your own room, but dealing with your mother who endlessly questioned where you had been hadn't been fun. However, you attempted to get those thoughts out of your mind as you closed your eyes, allowing the pillow to envelop your head as you got comfortable.

The next thing you knew, you were slowly opening your eyes to the sound of vibrating coming from your bedside table. You groaned quietly, turning onto your side to face the table—you had to quickly close your eyes as the bright light from your phone nearly blinded you, and you winced as you tried to allow your eyes time to adjust to the light. Once you were able to properly see the screen, you noticed a message from an unknown number sitting patiently on your lock screen—upon further inspection, you recognized the number as the one Lucas had given you earlier that same evening. A faint smile crept across your lips, and you unlocked your phone so you could read all of what he had sent you.

"Hope my dumb ass didn't wake you up or anything. Can't sleep. Wanna talk or something?"

=7=

Author's Note (1): I understand I committed a Cardinal Sin by adding religion into an X reader. But since a large majority of Louisiana is religious, (62.01%) I figured it would be a rather good idea to incorporate it into the Baker's lives. Please don't make a big deal out of it.

Author's Note (2): As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, there are multiple head canons within this story. One of the major ones is that Lucas _does not_ act like an insane psychopath _before_ the events of Daughters. This will be discussed later within the story.

Author's Note (3): Another head canon of mine is that Lucas is extremely distant from people. He has no idea how to properly act around others due to the bullying he endures, hence why he is rather awkward or shy / irritable around reader. He hasn't had much experience socializing since no one wants to socialize with him. (Also why I made him submissive during the bullying sequence; I see him as the type who simply takes it as it is. If you think otherwise, meaning he throws punches in return, that's fine. This is my interpretation).


	2. Time

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Please see first chapter for trigger warnings.

=7=

" _Hey, how did your finals go_?"

*Three months had passed since your first encounter with the Baker family. The fall semester of your senior year had just ended, and you were more than relieved to finally have winter break to relax and ready yourself for the start of your final semester in January. During those three months, you had begun making a habit of keeping Lucas company in the mornings before classes and during lunch in the courtyard of the school—sometimes, you'd even drive him home and hang out at his parent's estate well past dark. Just as Lucas had said on the day you came to his aid, these acts of kindness resulted in the student body beginning to associate you with him, and in turn, they assumed you were just as odd as he was. Quite frankly though, you couldn't care less what they thought about you—partially due to the fact you and Lucas would be graduating only a few months from now.

You heard your phone vibrate against the wooden table as you tugged off your tee-shirt, and you glanced over your shoulder to attempt to see what he had said; this attempt was rather unsuccessful, and you tossed your shirt into your clothes hamper before striding over to your desk and picking up your phone. Skillfully sliding your thumb across your screen, you unlocked your device and scanned over what he had said in reply to your question.

" _Made a 93 on my Math and a 98 on my Science. 85 in History, 61 in English. I fucking hate English lmao_ "

" _Hey, at least you made really good grades in your other classes. We'll talk more about it when I come over. I'll be there in a bit—getting changed_!"

You smiled at your phone before tossing it onto your bed, then slowly made your way to your closet. Humming to yourself, you scanned through the various shirts and clothing items you had to choose from; what would be best to wear? You figured something that wasn't too casual, yet not too formal would do. You ended up settling for a white, fitted shirt; the V-neck wasn't too revealing, and felt right for the occasion. You slipped off your pants and exchanged them for a pair of jean shorts, and slipped on your favorite pair of tennis shoes. You fixed your ( _ **color**_ ) hair, which was in desperate need of a brush after a long day of exams, and then stooped down to tighten the laces on your shoes one last time to make them a bit more comfortable. Once you made sure that you had put on a spritz of some scented spray, you grabbed your phone from your bed and made your way downstairs to the front of the house. As you went to grab your keys, you heard the sound of your mother clearing her throat come from behind you. You sighed; you had hoped you wouldn't have to deal with her before leaving.

"Where do you think you're going?"

You pulled your keys to your side, letting them hang off your finger as you stared at your mother. You swallowed, trying to find your words for a moment before opening your mouth to respond to her.

"I'm just headin' out for a little bit is all. I should be back later tonight."

"Yeah, your ass ain't goin' nowhere. You've been gettin' home late for the past two months, and I know it ain't some school shit. And what's with that outfit? You goin' to some slut club?"

The words that she had spoken pierced your heart faster than a bullet. How on earth could she say something like that? You were dressed normally, and you honestly thought that you looked rather pretty for once. You felt your nose crinkle as a scowl formed on your lips, and you gripped your keys harder within your fingers.

"So that's what you think of it, huh? How can you even say shit like that to me? You know, I'm tired of you actin' like you actually care about me and what I do on my own time—you're never here for me when I need you. You're always out there bein' social with the ten billion 'friends' you have. I can't even fuckin' talk to you because you're always textin' some dude or whatever! You didn't even come to my awards ceremony for the fall semester last week! And don't get me started on the fact that you're not even _at home_ ninety-five percent of the time!"

You were livid. You were so tired of hiding all your emotions from your mother, and you were hurt that she would say such disgusting words to her own daughter. You saw the fire ignite within her eyes, and she balled her fists as allowed her retort to surge past her lips.

"You watch your words with me, ( _ **Name**_ )! You're gonna talk to your own mother with a mouth like that? Your father would be fuckin' ashamed of you if he was still here!"

"Wow, what a hypocrite. Think about what you just said. You know, just because dad walked out on _you_ doesn't mean you can treat _me_ like I'm a piece of shit. Quite frankly, I'm glad that dad left you… he deserves much better than whatever the hell you are."

Before your mother even had a chance to reply to your words, you shoved open the front door and rushed down to your car. You heard your mother scream at you not to come home that night, and you didn't care at this point. You threw open the driver side door to your car, and immediately pushed the key into the ignition and turned it to start the engine. Your breaths were deep and ragged, and you gripped the wheel of your car so tightly your knuckles were nearly white. You let out two quiet sobs, your face scrunching up as you laid your forehead against the wheel and allowed the tears to flow down your cheeks. What had started off as a seemingly good evening was now ruined by that thing you called a mother.

=7=

"Is ( _ **Name**_ ) not comin' over tonight, Lucas? I thought you were gonna invite her over again."

Marguerite glanced over at her son, who was anxiously eyeing his phone that rested upon the dining room table. It had been nearly an hour since you had last texted him, and it usually only took you about ten minutes to drive from your home to his. Had something happened to you?

"She said she was changin', and that she'd be over here soon. She ain't ever been late before."

"Yeah, it's kinda strange that she'd be—"

Marguerite stopped speaking as she heard a few faint knocks on the front door of the estate, and this immediately caught Lucas's attention as well. The older woman didn't even bother attempting to head for the door; her son was already up out of his chair and hastily making his way towards the front end of the house. A slight smile crossed her lips, and she gave a faint shake of her head. Seeing her son so anxious to spend time with someone was a great relief to her, and quite honestly, she was glad that it was someone like you. She hummed softly to herself as she continued stirring the soup within the pot, and when she heard the kitchen door open once again, she smiled a bit as she began to look in that direction.

"Well, it's about time you got here! We were gettin' worried that—"

The smile immediately left her lips as she noticed how distressed you were; your eyes were red and puffy, and you had tear stains lining each of your cheeks as you leaned against Lucas for some kind of support. She hastily put down her stirring spoon and made her way over to you, her hands tenderly cupping your cheeks as she looked you over.

"Sweetheart, what happened…?"

You shook your head, and Marguerite glanced over at Lucas to see if she could find any kind of answer on his face. She was unsuccessful; he was just as surprised and worried as she was. She sighed as she took your hand, and she began to lead you over to the dining room table before helping you sit down. Once she made sure that you were properly seated, she slowly sat down in the chair to your left, and Lucas took a seat in the one to your right. All was silent for a while, save the gentle bubbling of the soup that Marguerite had been preparing within the pot on the kitchen stove, and the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock that sat in the living room. Finally, you sniffed and ran your palm across your swollen eyes to try and rid them of some tears—you were ready to talk.

"I-I'm so sorry that I'm late… somethin' happened b-between my mother and I before I left, and it just…"

You felt Marguerite's slightly calloused hand come to rest upon the one that you had upon the table, and she gave you as soft of a smile as she could muster. She knew that you were hurting, and pressing the issue too quickly wouldn't be the right way to get information from you.

"Sweetie, don't you worry. If you wanna talk about it, we're here to listen. If not, that's fine too. We ain't gonna force you to talk about it."

You sniffled, once more running your hand across your right eye as you attempted to calm yourself down. As hurt as you were, you knew that Marguerite just wanted to help—you could tell that Lucas was interested as well, and the look upon his face showed genuine concern for you. He had been nearly silent since you showed up, save the 'what happened' when he first opened the front door, but you figured that was because, like his mother, he wasn't wanting to push information out of you.

"We got into an argument… and she said some stuff about me that really upset me. It got so bad that she told me not to come home tonight…"

"Well then, you can stay here for tonight. We always have room for one more here at the Baker household. Now, chin up, sweetie. Let me get you a bowl of soup."

"O-oh no, ma'am. Please… I insist we wait until Mr. Baker gets home. I like eatin' with all of you guys."

This response earned a soft chuckle from the older woman, but she nodded as she managed to bring herself to her feet. She gently pat your head a few times, then made her way over to the stove to continue looking over the soup she was currently preparing. You looked over at Lucas, who glanced towards the stairs outside with a slight nod of his head in the same direction. You understood that he wanted to go upstairs, and you rose to your feet in preparation to go with him.

"Ma, we're gonna go upstairs."

"Alright, honey. I'll call you two down here again when Jack gets home."

With his mother's okay, you and Lucas left the kitchen and paced up the stairs that led to the upper level of the estate. You followed him down the hallway and around the few corners that led to his childhood room, and then walked inside after him. He began to shut the door once the two of you were inside, but then stopped himself and sighed quietly as he took a seat on the bed; you did the same, sitting to his right as your eyes took in the trophies that he had won throughout the years.

"I'd shut the door, but Ma would have my head if I did that. I'm sure you understand why."

"O-oh, yeah… that's perfectly fine."

You couldn't help the light blush that came to your cheeks, but you prayed that it was hidden or that Lucas didn't notice. Once more, the room was quiet for a while before Lucas sighed softly and leaned his back against the wall to relax a bit more. He moved his hands into the pocket of his sweater, and then looked in your direction once again.

"Alright… now tell me 'bout this fight with your mama. What'd she do?"

You clenched your fist slightly, trying your best to avoid breaking down in tears once again. You could feel them welling up in your eyes, but you bit your lip roughly in an attempt to keep them in check.

"I thought I'd dress up a little today. It wasn't anythin' severe… just a bit nicer than I usually do. As you can see, my shirt is fitted, and the neckline shows a bit more skin than I'm used to. I also decided to wear these shorts, which honestly aren't that bad length wise. I went downstairs to drive here, and my mother came out and asked me if I was goin' to a 'slut club.'"

"Excuse me?"

"Y-yeah… she literally asked me that. So I got pissed off at her an' told her that she had no right to say shit like that to me. I actually thought I looked nice today, and she had to go and say somethin' like that. I started cussin' at her 'cause I was so upset, and she told me my father would be ashamed if he heard me talk like that. My father walked out on my mother when I was little… and I'm kinda glad he did. He deserves a lot better than her. You see, we ain't seen eye to eye in a long time—mostly 'cause she's more worried about her goddamn social life than her own daughter. She'd rather dive in front of a car for a stranger than me… she's always out with some new guy, and she's rarely home. Yet now, when I finally decide to have a social life with you, she wants to act like she cares and whatever."

"You know… your ma sounds like a straight bitch. Pardon my French, but what the fuck kind of mother asks her kid if she's goin' to a fuckin' slut club?"

You shook your head, letting it hang slightly as to keep him from seeing the tears that were once again flowing freely from your eyes. Your attempt was noticed however, and Lucas sighed quietly as he rose to his feet. You heard him walk across the room, and you soon noticed something green dangling in front of you. You glanced up, and saw that he was holding out the large, stuffed alligator that was once sitting in the corner.

"I uh… used to use this when I was upset. It kinda helps to just… cuddle it, y'know?"

You sniffled, and then reached out to take the plush gator from his hands. The fabric was incredibly soft, and you managed a small smile as you wrapped your arms around it and rested your face against it. Lucas had been right—just holding it like this made you feel a bit better. You watched as the man grunted upon sitting down in front of you, and he rested his cheek upon his fist as he stared up at you.

"Y'know… for what it's worth… I think that outfit looks… real pretty on ya."

He gulped and immediately glanced away from you after saying those words, and the heat returned to your cheeks almost instantly. The silence in the room was a bit awkward, but thankfully Lucas decided to break it after a while.

"Y'know… I used to have problems with my ma, too. When I was a kid, she took me in to the hospital to get my head checked out. After that, that's when all the teasin' an' shit started at school. Everyone else thought I was crazy, and it fucked me up. *I blamed her for a long time for everythin' I endured, but I came to realize that she does care about me—her and dad both. Zoe is still a demon from hell, but ain't nothin' gonna change that. We're siblings."

You gave a slightly-choked laugh at his last two sentences, and that seemed to make a very slight smile grace his lips as well. You ran your arm across your eyes to dry them, and then sighed deeply as you cuddled against the large gator you still held in your arms. Talking about this with someone really helped, and it was honestly really comforting that you could trust Lucas with your issues.

"Hey, I've kinda been wantin' to know… what's your favorite thing? Like… in general? Somethin' that makes ya happy."

Lucas's question took you aback, since it was rather out of the blue, but you hummed to yourself as you thought of the various things that made you smile. But what was the one thing that could always raise your mood no matter what?

*"Hmm… oh! I know! I really love balloons. There's somethin' about 'em that just makes me so happy whenever I see 'em. They're just so fun to play with, and all the colors are just so… wonderful. Oh! And bubbles, too!"

Lucas hummed softly to himself, almost as though he was in thought, and then turned his head towards the door as he heard his mother call both his name and yours from the bottom of the stairs.

"Lucas! ( _ **Name**_ )! Supper is ready; come on down!"

=7=

When morning finally broke, Marguerite decided that it would be best to go and wake everyone up for breakfast—after all, she had prepared it specially for you as a way to cheer you up after yesterday's events. She sighed softly as she exited the kitchen, her hand finding the railing as a way to steady herself as she made her way up the stairs to the next level of the estate. When she walked down the hallway, she found that you had not fallen asleep in the guest room like she had thought. Now curious as to where you might have fallen asleep, she took a peek into the recreation room; you had fallen asleep on the couch, Lucas's gator nestled firmly within your arms as you slept. Lucas was on the loveseat in the room, his entire body sprawled out as he snored quietly. She then noticed that the television in the room was on, and she smiled a bit when she realized that the two of you had fallen asleep watching one of Jack's old VHS tapes.

She opened the door slowly, then walked inside and shut off the television before making her way over to the loveseat. She gently shook her son's shoulder, and he jumped slightly upon seeing his mother in the room.

"Jesus Ma… you scared the hell outta me."

Marguerite gave a soft chuckle, then pressed her forefinger to her lips as she pointed at the couch you were currently resting on. Lucas cocked his head slightly, rather amused at how tightly you were hugging his stuffed gator—but secretly, he was glad that you had managed to fall asleep. He wasn't sure if you were going to be able to get any rest the previous night, so he had opted into watching a film with you until you did. It would seem that his plan worked out alright in the end. His eyes followed his mother's figure over to the couch, where she gently shook you awake; you groaned softly as you opened your eyes, shutting them almost immediately as you realized the sun was up. Once you were well-enough adjusted, you looked up and noticed that Marguerite was still standing above you.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead. I got breakfast waitin' for ya downstairs."

You yawned quietly, slowly bringing yourself upright upon the couch with the plush still within your grasp. Though you had fallen asleep rather late, you had slept incredibly well—sleeping well was something you hadn't had the pleasure of experiencing for quite a long while.

"What's for breakfast, ma?"

"I just made some pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I wanted to do somethin' a bit more special but your father and I have to go to the store and get some more food today. Oh, and I brewed us up a batch of coffee as well."

You felt Marguerite's hand pat your head twice before she strode off out of the room, leaving you and Lucas alone within the recreation room. You groaned again as you rubbed some sleep from your eyes, then gently placed Lucas's gator down on the seat beside you. Its tail flopped lazily off the side of the couch since it was so large, and you had to pull it back up a bit to keep it from toppling onto the floor.

"Feelin' better?"

You turned your attention to the man in front of you, who was currently stretching himself out to relieve himself of his muscle stiffness. You gave a small nod of your head, bringing your arms above your head to stretch out your back and arms. It always felt wonderful to stretch out in the mornings after a long night of sleeping, and you gave a soft sigh as you managed to bring yourself to your feet.

"Yeah. I feel a lot better today. I uh… thanks for listenin' yesterday. And thanks for lettin' me use your stuffed gator to sleep with, too. He's really comfortable to cuddle with."

"Eh, it's no problem. We all got shit to deal with, and I just did what I could. Oh yeah… don't tell ma I said this, but the coffee she makes is pretty shitty without cream and sugar."

You had to stifle a laugh—something about Lucas critiquing his mother's coffee amused you. After assuring him that your lips were sealed, the two of you made your way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Jack was sitting at the table partaking in the latest edition of the Dulvey Daily. He glanced over when he saw you, and a smile crossed his lips as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Good mornin', young lady. I was wonderin' when the two of you were gonna wake up."

You glanced at the grandfather clock in the living room, seeing that the time was currently ten thirty-three in the morning. You didn't realize that it was so late, and you smiled sheepishly as you answered the older man.

"G-good morning, Mr. Baker. I apologize for sleepin' in so late. I typically don't do that, I promise."

"I'm just messin' with ya, ( _ **Name**_ ). Lucas used to sleep in 'til three in the afternoon if we'd let him. Come on and sit down—my wife prepared a wonderful breakfast for us."

You followed Jack's words, quickly sitting down on the chair to the right of him. You saw the kitchen door open as Lucas sat down, and Zoe wandered in clad in nothing more than a tank top and sleep-shorts. She noticed you through a yawn, and gave you a slight wave of her hand to say hello. You returned the gesture, and watched as she tugged out the chair from the end of the table and sat down in it.

"Mornin', daddy."

"Good mornin', honey. Did you rest well?"

You heard the newspaper crinkle as Jack flipped to the next article, and you simply listened as he and Zoe talked about a few things as Marguerite passed out plates that had already been dished up with food. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Lucas eyeing you—once he saw he had your attention, he opened and closed his hand several times in Zoe's direction to indicate how much of a chatterbox she was being. You moved your hand over your mouth to keep your laughter stifled, and heard the talking cease once Marguerite was sitting down at the table. She held out her hand for you to take, and you happily took both hers and Jack's since you were seated between the two of them. You bowed your head and closed your eyes, listening to Marguerite's prayer for the morning.

"Lord, thank you for allowing us to partake in this meal as a family. We are blessed to have each and every one of us here today, and we are blessed to have a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. Please watch over us today as we go about our lives—amen."

The rest of the table's occupants echoed in a quiet 'amen,' and you grabbed your fork within your hand before digging into the meal that Marguerite had prepared. As usual, her cooking was stellar—which was honestly rather interesting since it was a common breakfast. She simply had a way with ingredients and mixing flavors together that made your taste buds sing. Being here and listening to the quiet chatter of the family gathered around the table was honestly so much more than you could ever ask for. It made you feel comfortable, and even the rivalry between Zoe and Lucas provided some sense of comfort. It was the strangest feeling you had ever experienced, but you soon realized that this is what it was supposed to be like. This is what having a family _really_ felt like.

=7=

Christmas came a lot sooner than you expected. You eventually made your way back to your home after spending the night at the Baker's, but your mother was nowhere to be found. You figured she was out again—probably with some man or wasting away at some bar on the outskirts of Dulvey. This didn't really bother you; in fact, it was quite a relief to have the whole house to yourself for a while. However, after a few weeks had passed and Christmas finally rolled around, you realized that this was the longest that your mother had ever stayed out of the house. Again, you didn't care—you had plans with the Baker family. They had invited you over for Christmas dinner, and you had happily accepted. The entire day was spent with the family, and you discovered that Marguerite could cook one hell of a good chicken, and her mashed potatoes were to die for (Lucas and Zoe ended up getting into a verbal argument about who would eat the last of them, only to have them stolen by their father—the entire predicament made you burst out laughing).

At the end of the day, Jack announced that it was time to open all of the presents. And, that was where you were now. The family had gathered within the main hall, where a pile of presents lay underneath the Christmas tree that Jack had brought back from one of the local tree farms in Dulvey. You were currently sitting on the floor near the entrance to the back of the estate, watching as Jack opened his present from Marguerite. His face seemed to light up when he finally got all the wrapping paper off, and he grinned as he held up the VHS collection for the rest of you all to see.

"Aw, thank you, honey! I can't believe you managed to get your hands on this—how did you do it?"

Marguerite placed a quick kiss on her husband's lips, then chuckled to herself as she placed a present upon Zoe's lap.

"Now, now, Jack. A woman never reveals her secrets."

You noticed that Lucas rolled his eyes, but both of you turned your attention to Zoe as she tugged the paper off of her gift. She cocked her eyebrow slightly at the sight of the rubber chicken that she was now holding onto, and Lucas burst out into a fit of laughter. After seeing that his sister was unamused, he dug his hand into the pocket of his hoodie and took out a small, black box.

"I'm just kiddin', ya damn chicken. This is my present for ya."

He tossed the box to her, and she opened it to reveal a small ring—one just right for her middle finger. The gem in the center was a sapphire, and the plating around it seemed to be silver. Zoe looked up at her brother, a look of genuine shock upon her face. She removed the ring carefully from the box, slipping it onto her middle finger.

"I can't believe you actually got me somethin', Lucas. I'm kinda surprised."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get too used to it, though. My generosity only extends so far."

You watched as each of the family members opened what remained of the gifts underneath the tree—Lucas made off like a bandit when it came to power tools and building supplies, Zoe got a few more pieces of jewelry from her mother and a some clothing from her father, Marguerite got some cooking utensils, a few books from a series she loved to read, and a necklace from Jack, and Jack got a set of tools similar to Lucas's, another VHS tape set, and a set of power saw blades that he had been in desperate need of since his current one was worn down. Once every present had been opened, you smiled a bit as you began to rise to your feet. Before you could, however, a small box was placed in front of you by none other than Marguerite.

"Now, young lady, don't you think for one second that we would forget about you."

Jack spoke up before Marguerite could say anything, a you saw the slight smile cross his lips as he looked over at you. In all honesty, you hadn't expected to get anything from the family, but this was a wonderful surprise. You began tearing off the colorful wrapping paper, and once you had managed to get the box open, you carefully removed what it contained. Within your hand was a small picture frame, a black and white photograph of the entire Baker family resting within it. Around the outside of the picture, hand-engraved into the wood, were words that read: "Welcome to the family." You blinked, looking up at Jack and Marguerite who both had tender smiles upon their lips.

"Now, we know it ain't been too long since we met you, but Marguerite and I feel like you're already a part of the family. So, we all banded together an' thought this would make a nice, sentimental gift from the Baker family. Lucas helped carve the words on the outer rim."

You turned your attention to Lucas, who was attempting to nonchalantly play it off as though he had nothing to do with it. However, you couldn't help but think about how this family, a family that you had only met nearly four months ago, was making you feel more accepted and more at home than your own mother did. You felt your lower lip quiver, the surrounding area quickly becoming blurry as tears filled your vision. You gave a choked laugh, the back of your hand running against your eyes as you attempted to rid them of their tears—you held the picture frame against your chest, trying your best to give a smile in the direction of Marguerite and Jack.

"T-thank you. Really… you have no idea how much this means to me, Mr. and Mrs. Baker."

"Not a problem, sweetie. You've given us a lot of life around here, and quite frankly, Jack and I love havin' you over."

Marguerite walked over to you, giving your back a tender pat in an attempt to relax you. Once she had done that, she sighed softly and turned towards the double-doors that led out into the hallway.

"Well… now that we've all opened out gifts, how about we dish up some dessert, hmm?"

"Hoo boy, I've been waitin' for this part all day, honey. Let's get a-goin'!"

Jack eagerly rose to his feet, walking into the hallway with his arm around his wife's waist. Zoe soon followed, leaving only you and Lucas in the main hall together. You brought yourself up to your feet, beginning to follow after the others before hearing a quiet call of your name.

"H-hey, uh… ( _ **Name**_ )? Hold on a second, would ya?"

You stopped in your tracks, turning to face the man that was now in front of you. He seemed rather flustered, and he was having a hard time getting his words past his lips. That was quite different than the Lucas you had come to know, and you weren't quite sure what to think of it. Eventually, he finally managed to get his words out.

"I… wanted to wait 'til dad and ma left. I ain't the kind of guy who knows what to get a girl for Christmas… let alone any time of the year, but I wanted to at least give ya somethin'. So… here."

Lucas stooped down and rummaged around underneath the tree, grabbing something that had been cleverly hidden behind several of the thicker branches near the back. When he held it out to you, you immediately saw that it was an exact replica of the gator that Lucas had upstairs—this one, however, was smaller in size and would be much easier to cuddle with.

"Like I told ya, I used mine a lot when I was younger… and since your mom's a pretty big bitch, I figured I'd get you one too. It ain't much, but… it's somethin'."

You stared at the green plush for a moment, and then smiled as you used your free hand to take it from him. The fabric was just as soft as the gator upstairs, and it made you content just holding onto it. You brought it up to your face, tenderly snuggling against it for a moment before sighing quietly and returning your gaze to Lucas, who was still standing in front of you. Though it was dark now, and the only light in the room was coming from the candles lit upon the center table and the ones wrapped around the Christmas tree, you could tell that he was embarrassed. Well, you were about to make that worse.

"Well, I suppose that means I should give you my gift now, hmm? I guess it's best I waited 'til Zoe and your parents left… otherwise we woulda never heard the end of it."

With that being said, you leaned up and pressed your lips against Lucas's cheek. It seemed to stun him for a moment, seeing as he awkwardly stared off into space as the pink tint upon his cheeks worsened, and you couldn't help the giggle that passed your lips. This seemed to knock him out of his trance, and he stubbornly rubbed his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket.

"H-hey, now what'd ya go and do that for, huh? Now ya got me all embarrassed an' shit…"

You giggled again, then grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him towards the hallway on the other side of the double doors. It was time for the two of you to go and join the others, and, of course, partake in whatever wonderful dessert Marguerite had prepared for you that evening.

=7=

After having your fill of dessert from Marguerite, and enjoying the show of Jack quite literally licking his plate clean, you and Lucas decided to retire upstairs for the night. You didn't feel like going home that evening, so you had asked Marguerite if you could stay the night—this, of course, was no issue to her. You decided to stay in the recreation room again, and you and Lucas ended up watching another one of Jack's VHS tapes on the television within the room. Eventually, you ended up falling asleep on the couch, your stuffed gator held firmly within your arms whilst you rested. When Lucas noticed this, he shook his head and rose to his feet, turning off the television so that the light would have no chance of waking you. He then made his way over to the couch, crouching down beside you to watch you whilst you slept.

"Hmph… you're too kind for your own good, y'know? I ain't ever thought I'd meet someone like you… but… I'm kinda glad I did."

He mumbled these words softly to himself, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw you stir slightly. He was afraid you had heard him, but to his relief, you were still once more after you had shifted into a more comfortable position. He used his forefinger to brush a few stray strands of your ( _ **color**_ ) hair away from your face, and then rose back up and walked out of the room to let you rest.

=7=

Author's Note (1): The event that occurred in chapter one took place in the month of September, a few weeks after the school year started. The date in the beginning of this chapter is early December, and the end date is December 25th.

Author's Note (2): Another head canon of mine is that Lucas hated his mother for taking him to get his head examined. Once the kids found out about it, the teasing about him being crazy started—thus he blamed his mother for even taking him in the first place. This is in reference to the document found in-game stating Marguerite took Lucas to the hospital for a head examination when he was young.

Author's Note (3): Balloons and bubbles were chosen specifically for the plot in later chapters. I was tempted to allow you to pick something, but the usage of these two items will play out near the end of the story.

Author's Note (4): A quick reminder: the Lucas portrayed within this story is very different than how most authors portray him. The reasoning behind this will be displayed throughout the fanfiction, and will be explained entirely by the end of the work itself. If you came for psychopath Lucas, you're going to have to wait a while—my apologies.


	3. Surprise!

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Please see first chapter for trigger warnings.

=7=

May 12th—the day you had awaited your entire life. Countless hours of studying, researching, and attending classes had finally paid off, and in your mind, it was worth every second of it. As each name was called upon the stage to receive their diploma, you would hear the joyous shouts and whistles of family members, and the nearly inhuman screeches that came from the crowd of friends they possessed. One by one, each of your classmates that had done their best received the little document that they had strived so endlessly to achieve. Finally, you heard Lucas's name ring out around the area, and you strained yourself to see him walk across the stage. You knew immediately who all the whistling and shouting was coming from—his family. All the parents who didn't know any better were clapping as well, but nearly all of the student body was silent for his walk-through. You decided now would be the best time; you put your thumb and forefinger into your mouth, blowing vigorously to whistle with pride for the man. This earned you several scowls from the students around you, but you couldn't care less. You saw him look back to see where it was coming from, but your body was hidden from his sight by all the other students surrounding you.

Lucas finished his walk off the stage, and the rest of the students continued on after him. When it was finally your turn to walk across the stage, the same hollering and whistling came from none other than the Bakers. You smiled as you received your diploma, and then looked out into the crowd to see if you could spot where the Bakers were—it wasn't too hard, since the three of them were on their feet and waving at you. You gave them a meek wave, then continued on across the stage to make your way back to your seat. After a long talk from the principal of the school, the Valedictorian's speech, and the final farewell, you and the others were finally allowed to make your way out and meet your families. Once you were outside, you watched as all the other graduates found their families and got gifts of flowers, chocolates, and other such celebratory items—but, as much as you figured it would happen, you were disappointed to find that your mother was nowhere to be found. You sighed quietly, walking over to the side of the building and sitting down in the grass—you, the sole individual with a parent that never showed to your graduation. You looked around once more at all the happy, excited students conversing with their families, and then put your head between your knees; you didn't want to see it anymore.

The only thing that pulled you out of your current posture was a hand on your shoulder, and the sound of someone sitting down beside you. You glanced up, quickly wiping away the tears that now lined your cheeks as you saw Lucas sitting down beside you—his head was still donned with his graduation cap, and you noticed a little charm robot dangling off the end of the tassel that hung from his hat. You figured it must have been for all the times he had won the Young Inventor competition, since no one else had such a thing on their cap during the ceremonies.

"Hey… what's wrong? C'mon, you can't be sad at graduation. Where's your ma?"

You stared at him, not replying to the question that he had asked. It was then that he finally understood the situation, and the grin upon his face soon turned into a slight scowl.

"So, the bitch decided not to show up, huh? God, what a fuckin' loser. You know what? Fuck her. We're gonna have a celebration of our own. Ma and dad want you to come back to the house and whatever. You wanna come?"

You couldn't help the small smile that crept across your face whenever you heard that the Bakers wanted you to come to their estate. How could you ever deny them? Not to mention that hearing Lucas try to cheer you up had already made you feel slightly better. You watched as he rose to his feet off the grass, and then reached down and grabbed your hand—he lifted you off the ground, then took you back to where his mother, father, and sister were waiting. No sooner had you reached the family did you receive a tight hug from Marguerite, and surprisingly, a bearhug from Jack as well.

"Congratulations, young lady. Marguerite and I are so proud of you and Lucas."

"Thank you, Mr. Baker. It means a lot to me that you guys are here to support me today."

He responded to this with a firm pat on the shoulder, and a smile that adorned his face. There was no greater pride than seeing his boy graduate, and knowing that he had done it with his best friend made it all the better. Shortly after, you were driven back to the Baker estate where Marguerite had set up a huge surprise within the kitchen. The entire kitchen had been decorated with various graduation items, and five little party hats sat upon the kitchen table. You laughed quietly as you quickly made your way over to the table, picking up one of the hats and placing it onto your head. The other family members soon did the same—even Jack, which was something that was a bit amusing to see.

"Now, now, in celebration of Lucas and ( _ **Name**_ )'s graduation, I decided that it would be best to make somethin' special for the both of you."

You and Lucas were both intrigued by what his mother had just said, and you watched as she opened the freezer portion of the refrigerator. From within, she pulled a large, decorative cake that she sat down upon the center of the dining room table. Upon it was written "Congratulations, Grads"—each letter alternating between a light pink and a cerulean blue in icing color.

"Aw, no way, ma! You made an ice-cream cake? Holy shit, you know I love those!"

Marguerite laughed, gently rubbing the top of her son's head before taking a cutting knife from one of the drawers. She then grabbed a few paper plates from the cupboard, setting them around the table before dipping the knife into the chilled cake.

"Now, I know Jack is eager for some of this, would you like some, Zoe?"

"No thanks, mama. I'm fine."

"Alright, dear."

Marguerite cut slices of the cake out for each of you, save Zoe, of course. You took off your graduation gown as not to get it dirty, folding it nicely before placing it upon the bar in the kitchen. Lucas seemed to have a bit of trouble folding his, so you decided to help him out, much to his embarrassment. Once your attire was successfully off, the two of you sat down at the dining room table—you watched as Lucas wasted no time before digging into his slice of cake, and you rolled your eyes with a smile. It wasn't very often that you had seen him so excited about something, so it was quite a nice change of pace. You placed a forkful of the dessert into your mouth, and sighed softly at the taste. The ice cream itself was much creamier than something that was store-bought, so you assumed that Marguerite had gone through the trouble of making it entirely by hand. The cake batter itself was incredibly moist and full of flavor as well, so you knew without a doubt that she had handmade that. Before you knew it, your plate was nearly cleaned of anything that once resembled a slice of cake—Jack had already helped himself to a second slice, and so had Lucas, but you weren't quite in the mood for another slice; even if the flavor of it was intoxicating and your stomach was pleading for more.

As the day went on, you and the Baker family enjoyed talking about what was going to happen now. Lucas was unsure of what he wanted to do, which his mother assured him was entirely okay. You were in the same boat as Lucas—with your mother being out of the picture now, you weren't sure what was going to happen from here. You figured that you could get out and find some work around town. Jack offered to allow you to help him in his line of work, which was honestly very sweet of him. For now, you replied that you wanted to see where things went from here, and you would definitely think about Jack's offer for a job. If nothing else came up, you would most likely accept his offer—you made sure to express how grateful you were that he had offered you one to begin with.

Once the excitement of graduation had worn off, the day resumed as usual. The family each did their own things, and you and Lucas spent time together playing pool in the recreation room upstairs. You hummed quietly as you eyed the white ball in front of you, then carefully tapped it towards the 8-ball. The ball clacked loudly against it, sending it towards the hole in the top left-hand corner—it slowed, teetering on the edge of the hole for a moment before deciding to fall within it. You grinned, pumping your fist in the air; you had beaten Lucas.

"Aw, damn. I thought it wasn't gonna go in. Y'know, you're a pretty damn good pool player. I bet you'd be able to beat dad someday if ya really tried."

Lucas stretched his arms above his head before placing his pool stick back into the holding rack, and then flopped down onto the couch. You returned your pool stick to its proper place as well before taking a seat beside him, and you sighed quietly as you leaned your head back against the head of the couch. It was nice to relax at the end of the day, and spending it with the Baker family was all that you could ask for. They had managed to take the thought of your mother completely out of your mind, and you were far more than grateful for that.

"Hey, I just remembered somethin'. Come with me."

You blinked in slight confusion as Lucas hastily rose to his feet, but you decided to follow his lead anyway. He led you downstairs and into the main hall, where he then took you out into the backyard. You noticed the trailer sitting right in front of you, and the place that Lucas did most of his inventing to the left—where exactly was he taking you?

"Okay, okay. Now… this next place is pretty secret, so I need ya to close your eyes. And I better not catch you peekin', ya hear me?"

You laughed, enjoying the secrecy of it all. You gave a nod of your head to show that you understood, and brought your free hand up over your now-closed eyes. You felt Lucas grab onto your other hand, and begin leading you through the yard. You couldn't quite tell exactly which direction he was going, but eventually, the soft ground beneath you turned hard—you could hear what sounded like wood beneath your feet, and you heard a door open in front of you.

"Lucas, where on earth are you takin' me?"

"Hush… you'll see in a minute."

You giggled again, your heart racing. Not knowing where he was taking you was pretty exciting, and it made your body tingle with adrenaline. You continued being led by Lucas for quite a while, but eventually, you felt as though you were walking through items on the floor. They weren't hard, but they felt light—they moved whenever you moved your legs, and the slight squeaking of what sounded like rubber against rubber made its way into your ears. Where on earth were you? Eventually, you felt Lucas bring you to a halt—you kept your hand over your eyes, and then felt him press a hand against your shoulder.

"Alright, gimme a minute. You stay right here."

You heard Lucas's footsteps gradually fade away, and the room was silent for a few minutes. You still refrained from looking at your surroundings, even though you were dying to know exactly where you were. The sudden sound of a voice on what sounded like an intercom nearly made you jump out of your skin, and you exhaled deeply upon discovering that it was only Lucas's voice you were hearing.

"Alright… _now_ you can open your eyes."

You slowly moved your hand away from your face, your eyes opening to the dimly lit room around you. The room itself was small, but there were two doors within it—one on the far right end of the room, and one on the far left end of the room. You looked down, only to discover what you had felt moving as you had been walking: balloons. The floor was covered in brightly colored balloons! The smile that came to your lips was instantaneous, and you heard Lucas's voice come over the intercom once more.

"I made a lil' game for you to play, ( ** _Name_** ). Those balloons are special—inside of them are cards. You'll have to pop them to get all the cards, and once you do, you'll have the code to that lock on the left-hand door. Once you get out of that room, you'll find somethin' special. Oh! I probably should mention this... only five cards have letters on 'em."

You listened to Lucas speak, and hummed softly to yourself in thought. You hadn't even noticed the lock on the left door, but you decided to wade through the balloons and inspect it. The lock itself was opened with the use of five letters—there were far more than five balloons in the room you were currently in, so you figured you had better get to popping. Due to the low level of light in the room, it wouldn't be possible to see the card within the balloon, so your only option was to pop all of them until you found five cards with letters on them. Just for curiosity's sake, you opened the door on the right to find a small table—upon that table sat a plush needle holder that had a single needle sticking out of it. You carefully took the needle from within the holder, then walked back into the other room.

You picked up one of the balloons off the floor, then quickly pushed the needle through the rubber to make it pop. You were greeting by a shower of glitter, which made you jump—that was honestly the last thing you were expecting at this moment.

"Aw, dammit, Lucas! You _know_ glitter is hard as hell to get off!"

You spoke through laughter, and you heard some quiet snickering coming through the intercom as Lucas laughed at your predicament. You stooped down to pick up the card that had dropped to the floor upon being released from the balloon, and you flipped it over to see the letter _**L**_ upon it. You held onto the paper as you dropped down to your knees and picked up a random balloon—when you popped this one, there was no puff of glitter, but another card dropped to the floor. You flipped it over several times, but there was no letter written upon it. Another balloon—no letter, and no glitter. You cocked your eyebrow; it would seem that the balloons that had lettered cards inside also contained a surprise puff of glitter to go along with them. You continued going through each of the balloons, popping about thirty of them before you finally found another card (and another puff of glitter, to your dismay). This one had the letter _**O**_ scrawled upon it, and you placed it into your pocket with the other card.

This process continued until you had four of the five cards you needed. The other letters you had found were _**U**_ and _**A**_ , and you were honestly rather confused. You couldn't think of any words that had these letters in them. Perhaps once you found the final letter, you'd be able to figure it out. You popped a total of seven more balloons before you finally found the last card. Covered in glitter and wanting to figure out this puzzle, you took out your other four cards and placed them on the floor. The final card read _**M**_. You strained yourself as you re-arranged the cards upon the ground, trying every combination that you knew of to make a word that you knew. But, no matter how you arranged them, you simply couldn't figure it out. Perhaps he had—

It was then that it hit you. The word you were looking for wasn't in English… but rather in Louisianan Creole. You quickly re-arranged the letters upon the ground, and felt a light blush come to your cheeks as you finally figured out the word that the letters made: _lamou_. It meant 'love.'

You scooted yourself over to the left door, your thumb sliding the letters to mimic the cards that were still upon the ground. Once you put the final letter in place, the lock came loose, and you slowly removed it from the door. It slid open a bit, but not enough to where you could see what was in the following room. You rose to your feet after grabbing the cards, and then opened the door to the next room. You walked inside, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It was a large room, it held a stove near the back wall and several other doors that had signs that read "Do not enter! W.I.P" placed in front of them. You blinked, but you heard some interference over the intercom as Lucas began to speak again.

"Nice job on beatin' that puzzle, ( _ **Name**_ ). I was kinda worried you wouldn't figure it out, y'know! But then I remembered how smart ya are. So… remember how I said this room would have somethin' special for ya? Well… ya earned it."

You heard several clicks, and then saw several boards slide away from the walls of the room. From within these holes, several tube-looking objects appeared. You cocked your head slightly, wondering what was going on—that question was answered rather quickly. From within each of these tubes, colorful bubbles began to appear and slowly float around the room. You felt your heart leap with joy, and you couldn't help the huge grin that spread across your face. Slowly, the room began to fill with more and more bubbles that gently popped against you and whatever else they happened to touch as they lived out their short lifespan. You stared at the room around you, completely mesmerized with all that was going on. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, a large hatch opened in the ceiling and released countless, colorful balloons down around you. You laughed happily as you embraced the onslaught of balloons, and you gently bopped a few around with your hand to play with them. You were so preoccupied with the bubbles and balloons that you hadn't heard the door behind you open, and you jumped when you felt a hand come to rest on your shoulder. You turned quickly, only to see Lucas standing in front of you.

"So… I know it was kinda short, but I promise the next one will be a lot better! Did ya uh… did ya enjoy it?"

"Oh, Lucas! I loved it!"

The man nearly toppled backwards as you tackled him into a tight embrace, your face buried into his chest as you expressed just how joy-filled and excited you were. You sighed softly as you just held him for a moment, but suddenly realized that it was probably making him a bit uncomfortable. You cleared your throat as you moved away from him, a sheepish smile spreading across your lips as you looked at one another.

"I uh… I have one more thing to do though. There's a reason why I had that word be the code to exit that room."

He stopped, and you saw him swallow as he tried to find his words. It was quiet within the room for about a minute, save the gentle hum of the machinery as bubbles still churned out into the air around you. You waited as long as you had to for Lucas to finally find his words, and he exhaled deeply before speaking them.

"When you met me all them months ago, I was… a horrible person. I really was. I hated everyone, and I wanted nothin' to do with anythin'. But… God, I hate this sappy shit… but you really did change me, ( _ **Name**_ ). I guess what I'm tryin' to say is that… I like you, ( _ **Name**_ ). I like you a hell of a lot."

As much as you wanted to say you saw it coming, the fact that he still said it surprised you a lot. There was no doubt that your cheeks were a brilliant shade of crimson by now, and you stayed quiet for a while as you thought about his words. Your silence seemed to depress him slightly, since he was beginning to think that this was all for nothing, but that quickly changed when you tenderly grabbed his hands within your own.

"Y'know… you could've just asked me. You didn't have to do all this fancy stuff. But, that's what I like about you, Lucas Baker. You're always full of new surprises."

You placed a soft kiss upon his cheek, one which he didn't rub off this time. Instead, it made a slight smile come to his lips—you could tell he was embarrassed, but honestly, so were you.

"Should we tell your parents? It might be a nice graduation surprise for them."

"Ugh… if we tell them, we'll never hear the end of it."

=7=

In the end, Lucas ended up agreeing to telling his parents about the new relationship formed between the two of you. Neither of them seemed very surprised, and you had even heard Jack mumble something like "about time," but they were still overjoyed to hear about it. Marguerite, a woman you had never seen cry, shed a few tears as she realized that her boy had finally found some sort of happiness in his life, and that was all that she ever wanted for him. There was no reason to wonder if you were a good choice for their son, since they had known you ever since you had come into his life to begin with. Lucas had to endure a small speech from his father about making sure to treat you like a gentleman should, and you had to endure some questioning from Zoe about how it had happened. You simply told her that it was certainly a surprise, and she seemed rather disappointed that you wouldn't reveal all the details to her, but that was a story that you wanted to keep special between you and Lucas.

Later that same day, you moved in to the Baker estate. You took all of your belongings from your mother's home (she wasn't home, which didn't surprise you) and moved in to the guest bedroom that was connected to the recreation room upstairs. It felt right to be away from that woman you used to call a mother, and to finally be with the family that truly cared about you. Once your room had been set up, and everything was in its place, you went back downstairs to join the rest of the family for the celebratory graduation dinner.

Once dinner was finished and you had helped Marguerite wash up the dishes, you made your way upstairs and into the recreation room with Lucas. As you usually did, you picked out one of Jack's old VHS tapes and popped it into the player to watch a movie. For the first time, the two of you shared the couch together, and you gradually found the right time to rest your head against Lucas's shoulder. Both of you were rather awkward when it came to relationships, but that wasn't a problem that the two of you couldn't get through. As the movie progressed, you ended up falling asleep whilst resting against him—Lucas found this rather amusing, but in the end, he ended up passing out just as you had.

After enduring all the years of bullying, all the names, all the pain… he had finally found someone that loved him just for who he was.

=7=

Author's Note (1): The room/place Lucas takes you to might sound very familiar if you've played the game. This is entirely intentional, and you would be correct in assuming they are one and the same.

Author's Note (2): The next chapter will have a _very_ large time skip. I am warning you ahead of time since it might confuse people if they don't see it coming.


	4. Storms

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Please see first chapter for trigger warnings.

=7=

 _Messages: October 1, 2014 at 9:33 P.M._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _(_ _ **Name**_ _), you need to just come home. Mama and the old man have been acting real weird. This storm is doing some shit to them. Dad slapped me across the face just for looking at my fucking phone during dinner. He's never done that._

 **[Me]:** _I can't come home, Lucas. This storm has the streets flooded, and I'm at the hotel in town. They're letting people in since people can't get anywhere else. Apparently this storm is supposed to last over a week? But your parents… I wonder why Jack did that. He's never done that, not as long as I've been there._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Ik, that's what surprised me, too. Pissed me the hell off. The vibe around the house since you left and the storm started has been bullshit… which is why we need you home. Well, why I need you home._

 **[Me]:** _I'm so sorry, hon… I swear I'll try to head back as soon as I can drive on the roads again. Some people are brave enough to try, but I'm not. I shouldn't have gone to the store with this storm coming… I was stupid, but I wanted to get Marguerite what she needed._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _It ain't your fault. You were trying to help. Hope the roads clear out enough for you to come home soon. You need to get some sleep tho… so I'll text you in the morning, k?_

 **[Me]:** _Alright, Lucas. You get some rest too, you hear me? I love you… and I'll text you tomorrow._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Love you too. Now get some rest._

=7=

 _Messages: October 3, 2014 at 8:46 P.M._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Sorry I didn't text you back yesterday. The old man got drunk for the first time in a long time and was being rude as fuck. I'm telling you, something weird is going on with this fucking storm._

 **[Me]:** _Lucas, it's okay. I'm not mad or anything. But Jack got drunk yesterday? He hasn't drank in forever... and even if he did, it was only a beer or two._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Exactly. And to continue with the weird shit, Mama's cooking has gone to complete hell. Like shit you and I really like has tasted like garbage recently, and when I said something about it at dinner tonight, I got fucking yelled at by the old man. All I did was say that it tasted weird! I wasn't even trying to be rude!_

 **[Me]:** _Really? That's… what the hell?_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Yeah. You and I are in the same boat, then. Like all this shit is… so fucking weird. I'm glad I have you to vent it to, though. I really wish you were home._

 **[Me]:** _So do I, Lucas… but this storm doesn't look like it's gonna let up any time soon. I've been helping get people in off the streets and pass out towels for them to dry off here at the hotel. It's horrible down in town._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Sounds like it. Well… I guess I'll have to put up with it for a few more days. Idk how long this shit is gonna last. I've been checking the news and shit, but they aren't saying when it'll be over yet._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Anyway, I'm gonna try and get some sleep, alright? I'm real tired tonight from all this bullshit. I love you, and I'll try and text you tomorrow._

 **[Me]:** _Alright, hon. I hope you manage to rest well. I love you too, and I'll be home as soon as I can... I promise._

=7=

 _Messages: October 7, 2014 at 11:49 P.M._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _(_ _ **Name**_ _), I really can't take this shit much longer. Dad started throwing shit of mine into some box out on the veranda yesterday because he got drunk AGAIN._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _And the day before that, Zoe called me a fucking pervert because I walked in on her doing yoga. I needed her help moving something and she thought I was fucking looking at her. She's my fucking sister, and that's gross as fuck?_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _It's literally been like a whole new family has moved in here, (_ _ **Name**_ _). Mama can't cook no more, dad is getting drunk as shit and being rude as hell to me, and now Zoe is even starting to be weird, too. I really need you home…_

 **[Me]:** _Sorry hon… I was asleep._

 **[Me]:** _I don't know what's going on with them, but people in town have been acting kind of weird, too. I think it's this damn storm… I really do. I've had this feeling that it's not… normal. As weird as that might sound._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Shit… I'm sorry for waking you, babe… I just needed to vent. And no, that don't sound weird at all. I've had that weird feeling, too. Something is off as hell about all this, and it ain't good. Please… please come home._

 **[Me]:** _I've been trying, Lucas. My car can't get very far with the water on the roads being as high as it is. And even then, the rain has been so hard I can't see where I'm going with my wipers going full speed. It's ridiculous._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Yeah… the rain has been hard as shit the past few days. I just really, really miss you being here with me, (_ _ **Name**_ _). Especially now that all this weird shit is happening. Texting you is one thing, but being able to have you here with me is another._

 **[Me]:** _I know… I miss you too, Lucas. I swear I'll be home as soon as I can. I've heard several reports that the storm should be moving on in a few days, so hopefully that's true._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Yeah… hopefully. Well, I'll let you sleep some more, babe. I love you._

 **[Me]:** _I love you too, Lucas. Very much._

=7=

 _Messages: October 10, 2014 at 9:34 P.M._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Went outside today—found some busted up tanker not too far from the house. Dad found some lady in there. She's resting in Zoe's RV thing in the yard._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Zoe is watching the news right now. Dude says the storm should move on soon._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Dad just got home. Has some little girl with him covered in oil or some shit. Apparently found her by the tanker, too._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Fucking bullshit… he's letting her stay in my room. She's gonna get that shit all over everything. I didn't even have a say in the matter._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Whatever. I'm just sick of this shitty storm and what it's doing to our family. They're acting like total assholes half the time._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Sorry for the spam, too. I'm just tired of all this bullshit_ _ **.**_

 **[Me]:** _It's okay, hon. Just take a deep breath. I have good news, though. I should finally be able to drive out of here soon and make my way back to the house. I had a few guys help me push my car through the water and onto a part of the road that isn't drowning in water, so I should be able to make it back. How bad is it around the house?_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Awful. The boathouse is halfway underwater, and literally everything is covered in mud and shit. You might be able to make it up to the gate, but the mud is gonna be hell to drive through. But what about the road leading to the house? You know that's gonna be flooded to all hell, right? It's surrounded by swamp._

 **[Me]:** _I know, but I'm tired of being away from you and the family. It might screw up my car, but I need to be home. I'm tired of sitting here in this damn hotel._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _If you make it to the gate, I'll come let you through. If I can't for some reason, use the key I gave you, okay? Ugh… Zoe is taking that kid in my room some clean clothes. I don't like this shit at all._

 **[Me]:** _Remember, deep breaths. I'm gonna head down to my car and see if I can drive back, okay? I'm not even gonna think about looking at my phone, so remember that I love you, okay? I'll be there soon._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Love you too. See you soon._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _What the hell? The entire house just lost power._

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _It's dark as fuck in here… the hell is going on?_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _Mama ain't in the kitchen no more. Where the hell did she go?_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _adskngfaFGDAGkgam_

 _ **[Lucas]:**_ _pokgnskg_

 _ **[Lucas]: ..**_

 _ **[Lucas]: tHeYrE mInE nOw**_

=7=

Author's Note (1): This is the first time I've tried something new like this. An entire chapter revolving around text messages sent between two characters. If you haven't played the game, or seen "Daughters", you're probably going to be very confused as to what is going on in this chapter.

Author's Note (2): The changes that the family are going through are in reference to Lucas's "Fuck You" notes found in the Daughters DLC. A personal head canon of mine is that these changes happened because of the storm as a preface to what was to come: as you and Lucas mentioned in this chapter, it wasn't a normal storm.

Author's Note (3): I attempted to make this chapter as easy-to-read as possible. If it's still pretty jumbled, I do apologize. Making a whole chapter of nothing but texts was an experience, but I hope I did it well enough for it to be read properly. I tried a lot of different formats to see what worked best, and this is what I ended up with.

Author's Note (4): As I stated in the previous chapter, there was a huge time-leap from then to now. The last chapter took place in 2010. Lucas and Reader graduate at 18, which is 4 years prior to the events of Daughters, which takes place in 2014.

Author's Note (5): The last 3 messages sent by Lucas are meant to represent when he gets knocked unconscious in the kitchen, just in case some people were wondering why there was random keymash there.


	5. Nightmares

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Please see first chapter for trigger warnings.

=7=

Water and darkness—that's all that you could see as you continued to carefully drive your way back to the Baker estate. By now, the clock on your car read nearly midnight, and you were tired as all hell. Your wipers worked furiously to push excess water off of your windshield, but their attempts were in vain; the rain pelting vigorously against your car wasn't letting up any time soon, and there was simply too much of it to see properly. Your left foot eventually pressed down roughly upon the brake pedal to bring the car to a sudden halt—in front of you was a portion of the road that had been drowned in the overflowing swamp water. You knew there was no way that your car would be able to successfully drive through the water, so you grabbed everything of value, shoved it into your purse, and then opened the door to your vehicle. After pulling the hood of your hoodie over your head, you huffed as you quickly shut the door to your car and locked the doors—you only hoped it would still be here when the rain finally stopped. Reluctantly but filled with determination, you began to wade through the thigh-deep water.

As hard as it was to see, you knew the estate wasn't too terribly far from here. The road you had been driving on was the only road that led to the household, so as long as you followed it, it would lead you back home. The rain sloshing beneath your waist and the muffled tapping of water droplets against your hoodie were the only things you could hear, and darkened water was the only thing you could see in front of you. You prayed to God that there weren't any gators lurking within the waters, since flooded swamps would often drive them anywhere they saw fit, but to your relief you found that there were none. A sudden gust of wind nearly knocked you off your feet, but you quickly steadied yourself as you finally found steady ground underneath your feet again. Your legs were freezing at this point, but you were hellbent on getting back to the Baker's home—and back to Lucas.

You continued to trudge through the mud all throughout the night, and by the time you reached the forest that surrounded your home, the clouded sky was light once more. The walk that you thought would be short took all night, and you tiredly glanced down at your watch to read the time: 9:43 A.M. You felt your eyes drooping with the need for sleep, and your heart was pounding within your chest. Your clothes were undoubtedly ruined, and you were shivering; you perked up slightly when you saw the mansion finally enter your field of view, and a weak smile spread across your lips as you shuffled your way to the front gate. Rain was still pelting down upon you, and you had to fumble to grab your keys—there was no way you were taking out your phone to call Lucas, since the rain would ruin it. Once you found the right key, you unlocked the front gate and quickly walked through it. Once you made sure the lock was secure once again, you hastily made your way up to the front porch and pulled open the screen door. Your wet hand anxiously grasped at the golden knob, and you finally managed to get it open before dropping to your knees onto the welcome mat.

You were tired, freezing, and honestly felt sick to your stomach. However, the smell of freshly-brewed coffee filled your nose, and you managed to slowly rise to your feet. You took off your shoes, tossing them onto the rack before making your way down the wooden hallway. You desperately wanted to call to the family that you were home, but you couldn't find it in yourself to do so. You would have to apologize to Marguerite for making a mess on the floor, since there was no way for you to avoid dripping swamp water onto it, but that was the least of your concerns right now. You turned the corner after making your way down the hall, then used the strength you had left to push open the door into the kitchen. You then collapsed, your body too physically tired to continue any further—this earned a loud gasp of your name from who you presumed to be Marguerite, and you could feel hands upon your limp body only for a moment before you finally passed out upon the floor.

=7=

You awoke in a darkened room, and when you glanced around, you realized that it was the Baker's downstairs living room. You blinked, unsure of what was going on, but finally managed to find your voice as you rose to your feet.

"J-Jack? Marguerite? Lucas? Z-Zoe?"

You called out their names loudly, but there was no answer. It seemed as though every light in the entire household was turned off, and when you made your way over to the light switch, nothing happened whenever you flipped it upwards. You frowned, walking further into the kitchen to see if any of the family was around—they weren't. Your chest felt heavy, and no matter where you went, you couldn't shake the feeling of… eyes. It was as though there were millions of eyes that were constantly watching your every move, and every once in a while, you would catch a glimpse of what seemed to be a young girl in the corner of your eye. However, when you turned and tried to see her, whatever it was vanished as though it was never there to begin with.

" _Who are you?"_

A child's voice suddenly rang loud and clear through the air, and you shrieked upon hearing it. You hastily covered your mouth, your body staggering back as you used your free hand to grip the dining room table. Your ( _ **color**_ ) eyes hastily darted around the room, looking to find where this voice was coming from. You refused to answer whatever it was, and you could feel your heart pounding within the confines of your chest.

" _Are you here to be my big sister, too_?"

Sister? What the hell was this? What was going on? Your hand skittered across the top of the table, and when your fingers found the end of a butter knife, you quickly grasped it and brought it out in front of your body. It wasn't much protection, but it was better than nothing at all. You constantly kept yourself looking around, and you watched as the walls around you seemed to slowly peel themselves of their coating of paint. That was it… you were losing your mind. That's what this was. You tried to keep yourself calm, but doing so was near impossible right now—your breathing was ragged, and your entire body was shaking vigorously. Just when things couldn't get any worse, any light that illuminated the room seemed to be sucked from existence, and you nearly burst into tears at this. You could no longer see anything, and you were on the verge of sobbing—this was insanity. There was no sound, you were devoid of any light, and you were slowly losing the feeling of holding onto the knife within your fingers. You couldn't even hear your own footsteps anymore, and the sound of your breathing had ceased as well. You shut your eyes tightly, shaking your head as you tried to retain any sanity that you had left—and when you opened your eyes again, you immediately wished you hadn't.

There, not two inches in front of you, was the smiling face of a pale, black-haired little girl.

=7=

You awoke with a scream, your entire body flailing about as your hand desperately grasped at your chest. You could barely breathe, and tears had soaked your face—your eyes looked around, but you were unable to comprehend anything that you were currently seeing. Your mind was in shambles, and you couldn't think straight at all. It was only when you felt two hands cup your face that you felt your sanity slowly flow back into you, and your eyes finally managed to focus on the person that was now gripping your cheeks. Lucas.

"Baby, baby… easy, easy. Jesus… you scared the shit out of me… calm down, I'm right here…"

His voice was quiet, but dripping with genuine concern as he spoke. You could feel your entire body trembling, and you stared at him for a few moments before slowly reaching your shaking hands up to feel at his face. He was real—you could touch him. You immediately began to sob, your body falling limply against his own as you curled your fingers into the cloth of his hoodie. He wrapped his arms tightly around you, a deep sigh passing his lips as he held onto your body. You were here, you were home… and that's all that mattered now.

When you finally managed to get ahold of yourself, you moved away from your partner and wiped at your eyes. You were still shaking, but holding onto him for such a long time reassured you that you were okay. You coughed, then pulled the blanket further over yourself—you were freezing. You looked up at Lucas, savoring the fact that you could still look at him.

"Baby… what happened? You came home and passed out, so I stayed up and made sure that you were alright. Then you just… flipped out when you woke up."

"A… dream. I couldn't see anythin', or feel anythin', or hear anythin'… I was losing my mind. It drove me insane, Lucas. The paint was peelin' off the walls, and you guys weren't anywhere at all. It felt so real, Lucas. It felt so fuckin' real…"

Just thinking about it made you want to start sobbing again. For some reason though, you felt as though you were forgetting a part of the dream you had just awoken from—yes, the sense deprivation had scared you to high hell, but you couldn't shake the thought that there was something else that terrified you about that dream. Something that you couldn't seem to remember. Your eyes then fell upon your purse, and you reached over to grab it; you tugged your phone out from inside, and opened up your messages from Lucas. The last one was from October 7th. There looked to be more messages down below it, but no matter how hard you swiped, the messages simply wouldn't move.

"Lucas, what day it is?"

"Uh… October 12th. *The day before your birthday, baby."

"O-oh… that's right. I totally forgot about my birthday tomorrow…"

Lucas sighed quietly, and you felt his fingers begin to tenderly play with your hair. You had to admit that you enjoyed being able to be with him once again, and you had missed him terribly during the days you had been stuck in town. You could still hear rain pelting against the windows, but it seemed to be letting up finally, and that was such a huge relief to you.

"O-oh yeah, how are your parents acting now? Are they better?"

"Huh? Oh, that. Yeah, they're totally fine now. I dunno what the hell got into 'em, but they seem to be back to normal. Mama's cookin' seems to be back to normal, too. Zoe has been actin' a bit weird since the other night, but she's always weird. I guess the storm was just fuckin' with 'em or somethin'. Do you feel like gettin' up? I'm sure mama and dad would like to see that you're okay."

You gave a slow nod of your head, and you slowly swung your legs so that they hung off the side of the bed. You used your hands to steadily push yourself up onto your feet, but you would have dropped to floor again if it wasn't for Lucas grabbing you by your waist. You forced a sheepish smile, and he gave a rather concerned look in your direction as he draped your right arm over his shoulder. He used his other arm to hold you steady, and began to slowly help you walk down the hallway and down the stairs to the floor below. You watched as he opened the door to the kitchen for you, and all heads turned in your direction—Marguerite immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed to your front, her hands tenderly prodding at your face as she looked you over.

"Oh… I'm so glad that you're okay, sweetheart. Jack and I were worried sick about you when you came home yesterday morning. You slept the whole day, but that's okay. Here, I've been makin' some breakfast for you."

Lucas helped you over to the dining room table where Jack and Zoe were currently sitting, and the first thing you noticed was how on edge the girl looked. She glanced over at you, and you saw right through her forced smile; there was something definitely going on with her, but you weren't in the mood to prod her with questions right now. All you wanted was food. When Marguerite placed the plate down in front of you, you didn't think twice before, quite literally, shoveling the hot food into your maw. It was such a relief to eat, and you hastily gulped down the coffee that Marguerite had made you, as well. Even though it tasted pretty bad without cream and sugar, you didn't care. You sighed deeply whenever you finished drinking, and you heard a quiet chuckle come from Jack, who was reading an older edition of the Dulvey Daily.

"Seems like you were quite hungry, huh? I wouldn't doubt it, since you were out for an entire day."

"Y-yes, sir. O-oh! Marguerite! I'm so sorry about getting water all over the floor when I came home yesterday!"

The older woman turned to look at you, and you could have sworn you saw her head visibly twitch from hearing your words. You figured you were still fatigued and brushed it off, and she gave you the same soft smile that you had grown so fond of.

"Don't you worry one bit about that, ya hear me? You still have a lot of restin' and healin' to do, and it wasn't like you could have helped it in the first place."

She brought you another helping of breakfast, which you quickly devoured. Jack went on to question you about how you had managed to get home, and you told him all that you could recollect about the events that took place. You mentioned how you had been forced to leave your car on the road that led to the mansion, and that it had taken you all night to walk from where you left it to the house. This made Jack frown a bit, and he flipped the paper in his hands to another article for him to read.

"Damn storm messed up quite a lot 'round here. The boathouse was halfway underwater two days ago, and-"

"Wait, I apologize for interrupting you, but what did you just say?"

"The boathouse was halfway underwater two days ago. Why?"

You stayed silent. Those words were so familiar, but why? There was no doubt in your mind that you had either heard or seen those exact words somewhere before, but that shouldn't have been possible. You hadn't been home since the storm began, and Lucas had never mentioned anything about the boathouse when you had looked at the texts upon your phone earlier.

"N-nothing, sir. Please continue."

You listened to Jack speak about how badly the storm had messed up the surrounding area, and he then offered an apology to Lucas and Zoe for how he had been the past week—Lucas seemed rather surprised by this, but he accepted it nonetheless. Zoe didn't say anything, but simply nodded her head to accept her father's apology. There was something really off-putting about her right now, but you figured you'd best let her be for the time being. Perhaps you would find time to talk to her later.

After you had downed another cup of coffee, you felt much better than you previously had. You thanked Marguerite for the meal and the coffee, and then slowly rose to your feet. You glanced down at the attire you were currently wearing, which was nothing more than a white pair of pajamas, and then sighed softly. You wanted to get changed into something more appropriate, and then spend time with Lucas. You excused yourself from the kitchen, and then asked Lucas to follow you to your bedroom upstairs. He complied without argument, and once you entered the recreation room, you asked him to wait on the couch while you got changed. Once again, he didn't question you, and he took a seat upon the couch as you entered your room and shut the door behind you.

You changed into a pair of jeans and a plain black tee-shirt, put on some socks and your favorite pair of tennis shoes, and then made your way out into the recreation room once more. You took a seat beside Lucas, immediately cuddling up to him—he tugged you closer with one arm, a quiet sigh leaving his lips as he rested his head upon your own. It was silent for a while, aside from the occasional clatter of dishes from downstairs as Marguerite cleaned up the morning's breakfast, but you eventually decided to break the silence.

"Lucas… did you tell me about the boathouse being halfway underwater?"

"Hmm? The boathouse? Nah… I don't remember tellin' ya about that, why?"

"I just… when your dad said that during breakfast, I really felt as though I had either seen or heard those exact words somewhere before. But, when I checked my phone this mornin', the last message you sent me was that you were gonna let me get some more sleep."

"Huh, that's pretty weird. Maybe it was déjà vu or somethin'?

You nodded, allowing silence to once again fall over the room. As much as you tried not to pay attention to it, there was a strange air about the Baker household now. You had no idea what it was, but it felt almost… evil. You kept reassuring yourself that it was nothing more than fatigue that still plagued your mind, but with how Zoe was acting, the strange notion that you saw Marguerite twitch upon hearing about her floors, and with everything seemingly going back to normal all of a sudden after everything Lucas had told you, every fiber of your being was telling you that something was genuinely wrong. You huffed softly as you sat up, which earned a quick look from Lucas.

"I think I'm going to try and get some more sleep, okay? I'm not feelin' the best right now."

"Baby, you do whatever you need to do. All that matters to me is that you're home now."

You smiled at him, then leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. With that, you walked back into your room and shut the door behind you—you heard Lucas shuffling around in the recreation room, and through the glass, you could see that he was putting in one of Jack's VHS tapes. At this point, you and Lucas had watched every single tape that Jack owned, so you figured he was simply re-watching one that you two had seen. You crawled into bed and tugged the covers up over your shoulders, a deep breath passing your lips as you got comfortable. With the gentle noise of the television coming from the connecting room, it didn't take long before you managed to fall into slumber.

=7=

" _I really hope you're not trying to steal big brother's attention from me._ "

Your eyes opened quickly, and you were once again within the living room of the Baker mansion. You shook your head, already terrified of repeating the same sensory-deprivation dream all over again; no, you wouldn't let that happen this time. You shoved your way past the double doors that led out into the hallway, and then quickly made your way upstairs and into Lucas's old room. You slammed the door shut behind you, your heart pounding roughly within your chest.

" _Only I get to have all of big brother's attention. I don't know what I want to do with you, yet_."

You gulped, that same, childish voice resounding from every direction physically possible. You couldn't escape it, no matter where you ran or how many doors you hid behind. But who the hell was talking? And what were they talking about? Your attention was quickly drawn away from the voice, however, upon noticing the large gator that Lucas had allowed you to cuddle with when you told him about the issues you had with your mother. It was… standing upright. You stared in horror as the two beady eyes popped out, black ooze trickling from the now-empty sockets. The belly of the stuffed toy tore open on its own, stuffing covering the floor and a puddle of black goop pooling underneath it. You nearly threw up, and quickly yanked the door open as you ran into the hallway again.

" _You're scared, and that's okay! That's what I want. You'll give in to me, eventually."_

You covered your ears, trying to keep the voice out of your mind. But, there was no escaping it. It crept in through the tiniest crevice, and seeped in through every pore. You were once again losing your mind, and this voice was driving you into insanity. The things it showed you, the words it spoke… it was far more than enough to render you helpless. You dropped down into a fetal position, curling your body into as small of a ball as you could possibly muster—anything to help keep that goddamn voice out of your head.

" _You're going to be mine, too. Or I'll kill you_."

=7=

You shot up in bed, a cold sweat covering your body. Your breathing was labored, and you grasped at your throat as you attempted to regulate your breathing. It was only a dream. But… what had scared you so much about it? You remembered the stuffed gator, and how it seemingly spilled its fluffy guts all over the floor, but what else scared you? What else happened in the dream? You couldn't remember, and it really irritated you. A gentle knock on the door brought you out of your thoughts, and you glanced over to see Lucas through the glass.

"C-come in."

With your permission, the man entered the room and shut the door behind him, then took a sat beside you upon your bed. Once more, you saw genuine concern in his eyes, and you sighed quietly. There was no helping it.

"I had another nightmare. Something isn't right, Lucas. Something is… really, really wrong."

"I know what you mean. You ain't the only one who's been thinkin' shit ain't right. I've been… havin' more and more weird thoughts, lately. Shit I ain't thought about since before I met you. But for some reason, they've been comin' back."

You looked at him, and then sighed deeply. What were you to do? You had no idea what was causing all of this, and you honestly didn't want to risk sleeping anymore and having those dreams return. You noticed the small, stuffed gator that Lucas had given you all those years ago sitting on the table beside your bed, and you reached over and gently grabbed it—it was still as soft as ever, and you held it against you for some sense of comfort.

"Look, maybe things will be better tomorrow, y'know? After all, it's gonna be your birthday. We'll celebrate, and everythin' will be just fine. I promise."

You smiled a little as you looked over at Lucas, and then gave a nod of your head to show you agreed with him. He always did have a way of making you feel better when you were upset, and you were more than thankful that he was here for you. After all, he was right. Tomorrow would be a new day, and it would be your birthday. And with the Bakers, what could be better?

=7=

Author's Note (1): All I'm saying is that the reasoning behind October 13th being your birthday will be revealed soon. It was pre-chosen on purpose—my apologies.

Author's Note (2): The dreams that Reader is experiencing are the work of Eveline. This is the only thing I will reveal at this time, since the reasoning behind everything being "normal" will be revealed in the coming chapter.


	6. Insanity

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Added Trigger Warnings: Gore, masochism, and self-mutilation for pleasure

=7=

You didn't manage to get much sleep throughout the night due to the reoccurring nightmares that plagued your mind like a disease. Every time you were somewhere in the Baker estate, and every time you could still hear that damn girl talking to you. At about three in the morning, you had decided to move from your room into Lucas's, where he had been resting in his old bed—resting with him seemed to help ease the nightmares, since you managed to get at least a few hours of decent sleep before you awoke to a rather peculiar scent filling the home. You groaned as you opened your eyes, the sunlight from the window piercing your eyes; it took you a moment, but you suddenly realized that this was the first time you had seen sunlight in nearly two weeks. You sat up, raising your arms above your head to relax the muscles within your arms and back.

Once again a sweet scent drifted underneath your nose, but you couldn't quite put your finger on what exactly it was. You looked to your right, seeing Lucas still fast asleep—you smiled tiredly, leaning over and pressing your lips to his cheek in a tender good-morning kiss. This made him stir slightly, and he eventually opened his eyes to stare at you for a moment. He then groaned and flipped over onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow as he attempted to wake himself up. You brought your hand upon the back of his neck, gently running your nails along his skin; he shuddered at this, quickly jolting upright and pressing his palm to the back of his neck.

"Alright, alright, I'm up… God, that felt weird…"

You laughed softly, then placed one more kiss on the crook of his neck before steadily rising to your feet. Lucas exhaled deeply before following your lead, and then wrapped his arms around your waist from behind—you tilted your head back to look up at him, and he cocked his eyebrow as a slightly sly grin came to his lips.

"I bet you think I forgot, huh? Happy birthday, baby."

"Uh huh… I bet you just remembered."

He managed to press a kiss against your lips to keep you quiet, and you grinned as you held his hands tightly against your body. It felt good to be held by him again, which was something that you had desperately missed during the time that you were stranded in town. The two of you simply stood there for a while, enjoying the comfort that the physical contact brought, but eventually your curiosity got the better of you and you simply had to find out what that smell was that was constantly filling the house now. You grabbed Lucas's hand and dragged him out into the hallway, where the two of you made your way to the stairs and hastily made your way down them. You heard the loud whirring of what sounded like Jack's saw coming from the garage, and you glanced in that direction before making your way into the kitchen. Upon entering, you saw that Marguerite was removing something from the oven; when you looked closer, you realized that what you had been smelling was cake batter.

"Lucas! You're just in time to help me decorate the cake! You said you wanted to be the one who did it, right?"

"Goddammit, mama. I wanted it to be a surprise…"

Marguerite rolled her eyes, a soft smile adorning her face when she took off the heating pad that had been encasing her hand as she removed the tin from inside the oven. You watched as she carefully removed the two circular slabs of cake from their corresponding tins, and set them upon a rack to allow them to cool down a bit. You then saw her turn to the bar, where she grabbed a whisk and began to beat whatever was within the large bowl that had been resting upon the counter. You walked beside her out of sheer curiosity, and peered into the bowl to see what exactly she was working with—you immediately regretted this decision.

The liquid that Marguerite was beating within the bowl was dark red; so dark that it looked black in some places. Whenever she lifted the whisk from the bowl, the liquid oozed between the prongs and dripped back down into the bowl—it was only then that a strong scent of iron filled your nose, and you realized what exactly the substance was: blood. Marguerite was… whisking blood. Your heart suddenly leapt into your throat, and your head felt light as the urge to lose consciousness filled your body. Lucas must have noticed how quickly your skin paled, because as you staggered backwards in shock, he was right there to keep you from hitting the floor.

"( _ **Name**_ )! Mama, what's wrong with her?"

"I-I don't know, Lucas. She looked at the icing I was making and then just…"

Icing? Whatever the hell was in that bowl was _not_ icing. You saw Marguerite grab a dish towel and wet it with water from the sink, and a cold sensation spread across your forehead as she pressed the wet cloth to your skin. You inhaled deeply, the color slowly returning to your cheeks as you managed to bring yourself upright again with Lucas's help. Before anything else, you looked into the bowl once again, only to see thick, fluffy, crimson red icing. Your eyes widened, and you pressed the rag harder to your head—there was no way what you had seen could have been icing. But, what you were seeing now was completely different; the smell of iron was completely gone, and had been replaced with the sickly-sweet scent that icing gave off.

"I-I'm sorry. I think I'm still a little fatigued from what happened the other day. I didn't sleep very well last night, either…"

You stammered these words quietly, not wanting to talk about what you had just seen to either Lucas or Marguerite. You knew that if you told either of them, they would most likely think that you were losing your mind, or that you needed to go to a doctor. You ran the cold rag across your forehead again, and then sighed heavily as you leaned against Lucas's shoulder; you had to remember that today was supposed to be a happy day, so you couldn't let this weigh you down too much. After all, your birthday only came once a year, right?

"It's alright, sweetie. Jack and I haven't been gettin' much rest, either."

After reassuring you that you weren't the only one that had been deprived of sleep, Marguerite made her way back over to the now-cooled cake. Lucas, after making completely sure that you were okay to stand on your own, made his way over beside his mother and you watched as the two of them began to decorate the cake together with the icing that had just been made. You sighed deeply as you closed your eyes, your shoulder leaning against the wall—the shrill sound of Jack's saw immediately forced you to open your eyes again, and you glanced over your shoulder in the direction of the garage. Once more, the high-pitched scream of the saw ravaged your ears, and you squeezed your eyes shut in pain; for whatever reason, the sound was killing your head, and you couldn't take it any longer. Without saying anything to Lucas or Marguerite, you made your way upstairs and into the recreation room, where you forcefully shoved a VHS tape into the player and then flopped down on the couch. You now had a pounding headache, and the pain was so immense that you felt as though you wanted to cry.

"Please just… stop…"

You whimpered these words to yourself, clutching your head within your fingers. You weren't even sure who you were talking to, but you just wanted to sleep without the worry of nightmares. You wanted this splitting headache to end, even though you had only just gotten it. Your curled up into a little ball on the couch, your breathing shallow as you tried to block out the pulsing pain in your head. It was only then did you notice that the video playing on the television was something that you had never seen before. Without moving even an inch, your ( _ **color**_ ) eyes stared directly at the small box, watching as the grainy video played out upon it in black and white.

It was a room exactly like the one Lucas had created in his playhouse, as he called it. You watched as the footage went through every doorway, and eventually, out towards the Baker household. At this point, your eyes were as wide as saucers—how on earth could footage like this be on a VHS? No, this was current. It was as though you were watching some kind of live feed of someone walking through the backyard, through the doorway into the main hall, and then through the double doors and towards the kitchen. You felt your heart sink, and as much as you wanted to scream out to Lucas or Marguerite, no sound came out of your mouth. Your muscles were frozen, and your eyes were glued to the screen in front of you.

There they were. Lucas and Marguerite were still in the kitchen, and you saw that Lucas seemed to have noticed that you were no longer in the room. He said something unintelligible to his mother, and hastily made his way through the doorway—and through whatever had been staring at them. This was not possible. You were unsure of where Lucas went after that, but the footage then showed the stairs that led up to the upper floor of the estate. Slowly, the footage continued along up the stairs, and then down the hallway that led towards the recreation room. It was only now that your adrenaline kicked in, and you scrambled to find anything at all that you could use to defend yourself. You knocked over the pool stick stand in the process, the whole thing falling to the floor with a loud crash as you wrapped your fingers around the end of a bat that had been resting within the corner. Your eyes glanced over at the television, and you noticed the footage was now halfway down the hallway.

The footsteps—you could hear the footsteps coming down the wooden hallway. They were quick, and you readied yourself for whatever came through the doorway. As soon as that door opened, you began to bring the bat down over your head, only to immediately stop as the loud yelp of Lucas made you realize who it was. You held the bat still with trembling hands, the wooden item only mere centimeters away from bashing the poor man's face in. He stared at it, and you slowly brought it to your side as tears began to flow from your eyes. You dropped it, your knees giving out from underneath you as you clung to Lucas and apologized profusely through loud sobs. Your entire body was shaking, and when you happened to catch a glimpse of the television, the only thing that was playing was one of Jack's movies that you and Lucas had seen hundreds of times.

Lucas desperately grabbed at your face, trying his best to calm you down. He continuously kept asking what was wrong, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't give him an intelligent answer. The only sounds that left your mouth were slurred words and deep sobs. As much as he was reassuring you that it was alright, it wasn't. Nothing was alright. You had nearly bashed in the face of the man you loved, and you couldn't trust anything anymore. You were far too paranoid, and you just couldn't figure out why.

"Baby, baby, talk to me. I need to know what's goin' on."

"I-I don't know, Lucas! I feel like I've lost my mind! I'm seein' shit, and hearin' voices that I can never remember! But they're there! I can hear them naggin' at me in the back of my mind! I haven't been able to sleep because I have horrible nightmares, but then I wake up and I forget the most important part of them! I can't remember anythin'! The reason I almost passed out downstairs was because I thought I saw Marguerite whiskin' blood, Lucas! Like, human blood!"

You had finally managed to get your words out, and as soon as you did, you broke down again. You desperately wrapped your arms around Lucas, your fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt—you couldn't take this anymore. Lucas didn't say anything, but he hugged you tightly against his body and ran his fingers through your hair. Eventually though, he pulled away from you and cupped your cheeks in his hands.

"( _ **Name**_ ), do you remember when I… told you about what I did to Oliver? It was the second year we had been together, and I had never wanted to bring it up again. I told you about the thoughts I used to constantly have, and about the shit I wanted to do to people. That day, I honestly thought you were gonna leave me. I thought I would fuckin' disgust you. But you didn't. You stayed with me because you believed in me and told me that, even though what I did was horrible, I was just a kid. That ain't no excuse, but you stayed with me, even though everythin' I told you sounded absolutely crazy, right?"

You sniffed, running the palm of your hand underneath your eyes to try and rid them of some of their tears. You gave a tiny nod, and Lucas sighed quietly in response to this.

"You helped me out of that dark ass hole I was trapped in, ( _ **Name**_ ). When I met you, and when we started doin' shit together as friends, I forgot all about those goddamn impulses I had. The urges I had to constantly fight were gone. You gave me a new reason. Now, it's my turn to help you. Whatever the fuck this is that's messin' with you, we can handle it. We're gonna get through this shit together, you hear me?"

You nodded your head again, and your body was tugged against Lucas's as he wrapped his arms around you. At this point, he couldn't afford to lose you. He could tell that you were so scared, and that whatever this was, it was driving you absolutely insane. He himself had been there before, and you were far too important to him to get lost to that same darkness. He felt you move away from his body, and you forced a small smile as you looked up at him. You knew that you had to be strong for him, and strong for the Baker family, as well.

"C'mon, baby. Mama and I finished decoratin' your cake, if you wanna see it. Maybe it'll make you feel a lil' better, eh?"

You nodded your head, and Lucas helped pull you to your feet. You glanced over your shoulder at the television once again, and you sighed deeply as you saw Jack's movie running across the screen. You forced the thought of whatever it was you had previously witnessed out of your head, and then followed Lucas downstairs into the kitchen. You saw the cake that Marguerite had been working on earlier sitting nicely upon the kitchen table, several candles sticking out of it that gently illuminated the surrounding area. The red icing that that the older woman had been working on earlier now covered the cake in a neat, smooth layer, and the words "Happy Birthday" were written across the top in white icing. You knew immediately that it was Lucas who had written the words out, since his handwriting was rather unique when compared to the rest of the family.

"Oh wow. Thank you, Marguerite. And thank you too, Lucas. This cake is really pretty."

You saw the double doors open, revealing Jack—he sat down upon one of the chairs near the end of the table, and looked up at you with a smile that was rather… unnerving. You figured it was just the lighting, but you cleared your throat as you looked at the three people surrounding you. You wondered where Zoe was, but you figured she was probably taking a nap or something; after all, she hadn't been feeling well the past few days.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart. You wanna do the honor of cutting the cake?"

Marguerite spoke softly as she held out the cutting knife to you, and you gave a nod of your head as you gripped the hilt and took it from her grasp.

=7=

The room was empty now, save you. Lucas glanced around, confused as to where his mother and father had gone, but what was more intriguing to him right now was the fact that you were coming towards him. You had a sultry look on your face, and your fingers upon your free hand reached out and slowly ran down the side of his face. He gulped, not quite sure what to make of everything that was currently going on.

"Y'know… as much as I'd like cake right now, there's something that I'd enjoy just a little bit more…"

Your voice was breathy, soft, and alluring—Lucas knew that tone of voice. He watched as you walked completely around him once, and then stopped in front of him and held out the hilt of the knife in his direction.

"Would you like to cut me, baby? Would you like to see me bleed? Here, let me show you what I want you to do to me…"

He watched as you turned the blade of the knife towards yourself, and you barely ran the sharp side along the side of your neck—following the silver blade was a trail of blood that gently trickled from the newly-formed wound, and you released a shuddering breath as the warm liquid ran slowly along your skin. Your ( _ **color**_ ) eyes stared at him unyieldingly, your teeth gently biting down on your lower lip as you brought the blade away from your skin. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, the sight of the blood and the seductive behavior from you was… addicting. You walked in front of him once again, then turned and pressed your back to his chest.

"Come on, Lucas… remember those things you used to fantasize about…? Why not act them out now?"

He felt the hilt of the knife come to rest in his hand, and you then brought his hand, and the blade, to the soft flesh of your cheek. You led his hand downwards, the blade carefully slicing through the previously untainted skin; Lucas couldn't help the shuddering breath that left his lips as he watched you perform these actions, and he eventually brought his other hand to tug the bottom of your shirt up slightly. Now acting entirely on his own, the blade of the knife travelled along the skin of your belly, crimson beads flowing freely down your skin from the new wound.

Lucas released a breath against your ear, which made you shudder against his body. He pressed the blade a bit harder to the other side of your belly, making a cut that was quite a bit deeper than the previous ones had been, and the crimson liquid that spilled from the gash ran steadily over Lucas's fingers. He had to stop… he was going to lose himself…

"Lucas… Lucas, baby…"

=7=

Lucas blinked, seeing you staring at him with a slightly confused look upon your face. You cocked your eyebrow, and you saw him swallow nervously; it seemed as though he had been daydreaming or something, but at the same time, he seemed to be unaware of what was going on. He cleared his throat, then noticed that you were holding out a plate with a slice of cake upon it in his direction. It took him a moment to realize exactly what was going on, but once he saw his mother and father in the room, he hastily took the plate and sat down at the table. You hummed softly, but proceeded to cut pieces for Marguerite and Jack as well, and then one for yourself. You sat down beside Lucas, who was now abnormally quiet; thinking nothing of it, you began to eat your cake in peace, happy to be eating with the family once more.

As the day progressed, Lucas began to steadily return to his normal self. Whatever had been bugging him earlier wasn't weighing on his mind as much now, but he was rather clingy to you—more so than normal, but you didn't particularly mind it. When the day finally came to an end, you and Lucas decided it would be best to lay down together; it would help you get some sleep, and if you started to have a nightmare, he would be there to wake you up. Tonight, however, this would prove to be ineffective.

You opened your eyes, finding that you were still resting beside a sleeping Lucas. Moonlight shone in through the windowpanes in the room, but there was something else that caught your attention. Within the doorway to Lucas's room stood a young girl. She stared at you with a caring smile on her face, and she beckoned you with her forefinger to follow her down the hallway. For whatever reason, you were inclined to follow this young girl, and you rose to your feet out of the bed. Lucas stirred slightly, but didn't wake up at the feeling of you leaving the bed. You shuffled your way over to the door, and then peered down the hallway to see the little girl scampering down to the stairwell that was just around the corner. You blinked slowly, and then began to make your way down the hallway after her.

=7=

Lucas groaned quietly as he felt something move beside him, and he yawned quietly as he allowed his eyes to flutter open to take in the moonlit room. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision, but decided that it might be best just to lay back down and go back to sleep. At least, those were his thoughts before he heard the footsteps making their way down the wooden hallway. He rolled over onto his back, and as soon as he did, he realized that you were no longer resting beside him in the bed. He immediately sat up, his eyes darting around the room to see if you were still within it—you weren't. He threw off his covers and hurried to the doorway, where he heard steady steps making their way down the stairs that led to the lower floor. Something was very, very wrong.

He hurried down the hallway and down the stairs, then listened to hear where the steps were coming from. He heard no steps, but instead heard the large, double doors that led into the main hall open. He was beginning to become frantic, and he hastily ran down the long hallway and into the main hall—the doorway that led to the backyard was now open, bright moonlight shining in through the open doorway. He rushed outside, and saw your figure making your way into his playhouse; but… who was that in front of you? It was as though you were being led by someone. He called out your name, but you didn't even so much as look in his direction. He dashed across the yard, but right as he began to make his way up the wooden ramp, the mud on the bottom made him slip. He cursed loudly as he landed on his knee, and he hissed in pain as he forcefully gripped it for a few moments.

"Fuck… I have to… get to her…"

He panted these words quietly to himself, and he picked himself up off the ground. Though he was now walking with a heavy limp, he forced his way through the pain and followed your figure into the playhouse. He hurried around the hallways, seeing only the tail end of your figure as he limped along. Where the hell were you going, and why? This wasn't normal. Finally, he found you in the room that he had asked you to be his girlfriend in all those years ago. You were simply standing there, staring at the wall in front of you. He groaned at the pain in his knee, and then gripped the corner of the wall as he tried to support himself.

"Baby… what the hell are you doin' out here this late?"

He watched as you glanced over your shoulder, but when you finally turned to face him, whatever he thought he was seeing had changed. The person standing in front of him was no longer you, but instead, a young girl with pale skin, and raven-black hair. She smiled at him, and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"She was taking too much attention away from me! With her around, no one was noticing me like they should have been! Before she came here, you guys were all loving me!"

When the girl spoke, Lucas suddenly remembered what happened the night before you came back. He remembered how his father had dragged him into his room, and how he had forced him to ingest… whatever the hell that black shit was. He remembered watching his mother hold herself back when Zoe tried to sneak through the main hall, and he remembered feeling as though he could do whatever he wanted. The pain in his leg was slowly ceasing, and he noticed that the girl in front of him was grinning from ear to ear.

"See? Now that she's gone, your minds aren't blocked anymore! You guys can be my family now! It's kinda funny, really. It only took two days to break her! She was so fun to mess with. And so were you!"

"Y-you… you were the one who made me see that shit earlier today?"

"Uh-huh! I can see your deepest desires, you know!"

Lucas was standing as though his leg had never been hurt in the first place now, and he stared at the girl in front of him. It was only then that he realized what the girl had said a few seconds earlier: _now that you were gone_. The girl suddenly gave a loud giggle, and she rocked back and forth on her heels innocently. Her hands were clasped together behind her back, and she tilted her head as she spoke her next words.

"You just now realized, huh? She just couldn't take it anymore! She let her mind be open to me, so… maybe you should see for yourself what I made her do. I suppose you could say that her heart belongs to you now!"

Another loud laugh echoed throughout the playhouse, and in the blink of an eye, the girl was gone. In her place, splayed out in a bloody mass upon the ground, was you. In your right hand, you held the same cutting knife you had used earlier to cut the cake for your family. In your left hand, clasped within your cold fingers, was the heart that Eveline had forced you to pry from your very chest. Lucas laughed quietly, suddenly feeling his body grow weak—he dropped to his knees before slowly crawling beside you, quiet laughs still escaping his lips. This was some kind of sick, twisted, fucked up joke, right? That's all that this was. It had to be. It _**had**_ to be.

He brought you up onto his lap, partially-coagulated blood caking his hands almost instantly as he held you. He stared at the gaping hole in your chest, his eyes eventually making their way over to your heart, which was still pulsating faintly between your fingers. He shook you, your head limply bobbing in response against his body—again, he shook you, and again, there was no response. By now, the laughs that were leaving his lips had morphed into half-sobs, and his clothes were becoming soaked as tears drained rapidly from his eyes. His mind was unable to comprehend what was happening, and he didn't know how to react; he was in such a state of shock that nothing around him seemed real anymore. Those beautiful eyes of yours were now glassy, not a single hint of life in them as you stared endlessly past him.

You were gone. Your love, your kisses, your hugs, the longs nights spent together in each other's arms, the long conversations you had whenever either of you were upset—they were gone. The screams of grief that echoed across the parishes that night would be heard only by the Baker family, who, with the death of you, found themselves lost to the very child who had taken you from them.

=7=

 _From: The Connections_

 _To: Mr. Baker_

 _Good day, Mr. Baker._

 _It has come to our understanding that you have come into contact with the test subject known as E-001, or Eveline. Within the box you received, you will find enough serum to cure you of the ability she possesses—when taken, she will no longer be able to control you to her will, and you will be free of anything binding you to her. However, in exchange for our services, we ask that watch over her and the rest of your family. We are currently interested in collecting data on this particular virus, and the effects that it has on subjects who are exposed to it. Shortly after you receive this email, a group of scientists will move into the mines surrounding your family's estate. Over the next few years, we will build a laboratory within the mines, where we will continue our research on this virus._

The needle of the injector hastily made its way beneath Lucas's skin, and he sighed in relief as his body began to feel clearer almost immediately. He sat upon the boxes that rested in front of his computer, and he stared at the words that were on the screen—who the fuck were these people to tell him what he was and wasn't to do? Not to mention that they decided to show up now, when they should have been here months ago. Anger began to bubble within him as he thought about the _event_ that could have been prevented if these people had come sooner, and he scowled as his fingers began to hastily scurry across his keyboard.

 _From: Fuck you!_

 _To: Whoever the fuck you are!_

 _I dunno who the fuck you people think you are, but whatever the hell you people are planning, I don't give a shit about it. In fact, all of you people could get eaten by whatever the fuck these monsters are that are now running around my family's home, and I would laugh about it. But, if working with you assholes means getting back at that little bitch that took everything away from me… count me the fuck in._

Once he had hastily typed out his reply, he immediately hit the send button upon his computer, and shut the lid to his laptop forcefully. The scowl upon his lips stayed, and he clasped his hands together before resting his chin on top of them. As wretched thoughts rushed through his mind, the sound of laughter from the ground above his head yanked him away from them—he glanced up, seeing dirt drifting down from the ceiling as whoever was up there happily ran across the ground. The scowl upon his lips turned into a wicked grin, and he rose to his feet. He blissfully stuffed his hands into his pockets, whistling softly to himself as he made his way down the long corridor that eventually let out into the backyard of the family' house.

=7=

"Hey, sweetheart. I'm back! I missed you so much…"

Lucas ran his hand tenderly down the jar that sat in his observation room, his eyes lovingly staring at the organ that rested within the clear liquid. He sighed softly, giving the jar a gentle tap with his forefinger before turning on the monitors within the room. His eyes fell upon the young couple that he had knocked unconscious only a while earlier, and he chuckled to himself as he pointed at the screen.

"See them? I found some others to celebrate your birthday, baby! It's been a while since anyone last celebrated with us, but that's okay. They're gonna help today. And you'll get to see the balloons you love so much again, too!"

Soft groaning was heard through the speakers in the observation room, and Lucas grinned from ear to ear as he watched the couple freak out upon waking up from their unconsciousness. He hummed a gentle tune to himself as he brought his jar onto his lap, his arms wrapping around it to hold it even closer to him. When he finally decided he had seen enough of the young couple losing their minds over the fact they had been kidnapped, he pressed the button on the intercom and cleared his throat.

"Evenin', ladies and gents! I'm so happy that the two of you decided to show up for today's special event. I was scared we wouldn't have anyone show up!"

"W-where the hell are we? We just want out of here, man! I dunno what we did, but please just let us go!"

"Ah, ah, ah! Leavin' the party so soon would be incredibly rude, and we don't wanna seem rude now, do we? After all, it ain't every day my sweetheart gets to have her birthday."

Lucas watched as the woman attempted to yank open the metal-barred doors that prevented them from leaving, and he laughed to himself—it truly was hilarious watching these people lose their minds inside his playhouse. After all, he had done a lot of work on it since the event that transpired there all those months ago. He eyed the couple as they spoke some words to one another, and the man then spoke up once again.

"Look, man. We don't give a shit who's birthday it is. We just want to get the fuck out of here, okay? Let us go. We're sorry for trespassin' or whatever, but-"

"Excuse me? Did you just… say that you _don't care_ about who's birthday it is?"

Lucas's voice was dripping with intent to kill, now. The playful tone that he had kept upon first speaking to the couple had ceased to exist, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the monitor in front of him. His grip on the jar he held tightened, and he licked his lips before speaking again.

"You say shit like that again, and I'll fuckin' kill you myself. No one disrespects my girl, you hear me? Now… listen here, you fucker. You're gonna help us celebrate my girl's birthday, right? If you can finish this little game I've created, I'll let you and your bitch go. Are you ready to hear the rules?"

It was silent between the captured couple and Lucas for a long while, and his angered breathing was the only thing he could hear within the observation room. He had half a mind to go in there and beat the life out of that man, but he restrained himself—after all, he didn't want to spoil the fun for his woman. She deserved the best birthday possible, and he was hellbent on making sure that she got to experience it. Getting tired of waiting for a response from the couple, he pressed a button to make the hatch in the ceiling open, hundreds of colorless balloons suddenly floating down to surround the couple in the other room.

"The rules are simple. All you have to do… is light the candle, and put it on the cake."

=7=

Author's Note (1): Lots of messed up shit in this chapter, huh? But, don't worry. We still have one more chapter to go.

Author's Note (2): Everything I specifically chose led to this one pivotal moment. Lucas lost his mind when he lost you—you were his only reason to continue living a normal life, and when Eveline took that from him, he lost his sanity along with it. He is constantly stuck on the day that you and his family were taken from him: your birthday. Hence why he is so desperately obsessed with birthdays in his puzzles, and he always uses balloons in them, as well. He is so desperate to hold on to whatever he can of you—hence why he literally kept your heart in a jar.

Author's Note (3): Writing this has been quite the experience. Since, again, I chose a very different version of Lucas than most people tend to work with, I had to make sure I fleshed everything out accordingly. His insanity was kept in check by the one person who believed in him, and once they were gone, so was he. He had nothing left—the one person he loved is gone, and so was his family. His darkest desires took over, and he got stuck in a never-ending loop of grief-stricken insanity.


	7. Finale

* = Author's Note – please see bottom of chapter for explanation.

Please see first chapter for trigger warnings.

=7=

"Game over."

The last thing Lucas remembered seeing was the masked face of the man who had bested him, and the barrel of a gun pointed directly at his head—well, what remained of his head, anyway. The light that followed the split-second sound of the gun firing off was brighter than any he had ever known, and it lasted longer than anything else he had ever experienced.

After what felt like years, the brilliant light that blinded him began to recede. Blobs of green, blue, and brown began appearing like splotches of paint that had been thrown onto a blank canvas. Eventually, the blobs began to take shape, and he realized that he was staring from the ground up—up into the foliage of trees that towered above him. He blinked slowly, unsure of what exactly was going on, but he eventually brought himself up into a sitting position to look around him. The land surrounding him was incredibly familiar, but it wasn't until he noticed the large mansion behind him that he knew exactly where he was. He was sitting outside the gate that led into the estate. He rose to his feet, the pebbles and dirt under his shoes crunching beneath his shifting weight—how was he back home?

He padded to the front gate, which was oddly missing the chain-lock that typically hung around the two middle bars. He cocked his eyebrow slightly as he put his hand out to touch the metal, but hesitated for a moment; after gathering himself, he wrapped his fingers around the cold metal, and tugged the right side of the gate open. When he did, instead of the typical ear-piercing screech the rusting joints usually gave, the gate opened in near silence as it slid into place. There was still the occasional squeak of metal, but it was a blatant improvement from how it was prior to now. Lucas ran his eyes over the mansion once more, contemplating whether or not he wished to go further—what if nothing had changed? He eventually decided that he would go further, but as he took his first few steps forward, something caught his eye; in his peripheral vision, he saw someone sitting underneath the large oak that was still standing strong upon the left side of the yard.

He turned his attention in that direction, and felt his breath catch within his throat. ( _ **Color**_ ) hair fluttered about in the gentle breeze, and beautiful ( _ **color**_ ) eyes stared directly at him—eyes that he hadn't seen for years. He watched as a tender smile crossed your lips, and he immediately felt drawn in that direction; the closer he got to the tree, the weaker his legs felt. He had seen this countless times before in his dreams, and each time he managed to get to you, you would vanish from his sight. This time though, when he dropped to his knees beside you, you didn't simply blow away with the breeze. You continued staring at him, that same smile upon your lips.

With a trembling, hesitant hand, Lucas reached out in front of him and placed your cheek within the palm of his hand. You released a soft sigh at the feel of his skin, and pressed your cheek just a tad harder against his hand—he laughed quietly, and you saw the tears that welled up in his eyes as both hands now gently caressed your cheeks.

"I-I… I can touch you this time… "

You nodded your head, but didn't say anything in response to him. He didn't care whether or not you spoke; all he cared about was the fact that you were real this time. He could touch you, and he could hold you against him again. For the first time in years, the first time since that horrible night that you were torn away from him, Lucas found himself in tears. The one person that he had cared about more than any other was with him again, by some act of God, and that was all that he had wanted. Finally, he watched as you parted your loving lips, allowing your sweet voice to reach his ears for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

"I've been waitin' for you for a long time, Lucas. I didn't expect you to be here so soon, but that's okay."

When Lucas realized what you had said, he felt his chest heave—you had been waiting for him? All these years, and you had been waiting for him right here? That would mean that you knew of what he had become after you had gone, and what he had done even outside of Eveline's control. A sudden, powerful surge of guilt washed over his entire body, and large droplets rushed down his cheeks and fell upon the grass beneath him. He bowed his head, his hands still holding on to your cheeks as he sat there and sobbed in silence. Finally, he managed to find the words that he wished to speak.

"Ain't nothin' I can do to atone for what I did… I know you probably saw what I did after you died, and there ain't no excuse for it. Those damn thoughts took over me, and I just didn't care no more… I let my desires run my life, even though I knew damn well what I was doin' was horrible. I don't know what I did to see you again, because I shouldn't even be here… but I-"

He was stopped only by a finger being placed against his lips, and he glanced up with puffy eyes in your direction. The smile upon your lips was gone, and replaced by a look of both sadness and concern. Now it was your turn to tenderly hold his cheeks within your hands, and you tugged his head onto your chest before you decided to speak again.

"I know, Lucas. I know about everythin' that you did. You hurt a lot of people, and a lot of it wasn't your fault. But, even after being freed from Eveline… you were lost. Like you said, there isn't an excuse for what you did, but the fact that it was the very first thing you said when you saw me leads me to believe that you truly are sorry. You could have played it off like nothin' happened, but you didn't. You recognized what you did. Someone who wasn't sorry wouldn't even think about doin' somethin' like that… even if it was in front of someone they love."

You could feel him shaking upon your chest, and you leaned down to place a soft kiss upon his head. You knew he was scared, but in all honesty, you weren't thinking any less of him than you had when you were still alive. You had witnessed what he had done, but you couldn't bring yourself to hate him. What Eveline did to him was something that would traumatize anyone, especially someone like him—he took out his hatred for what she did on those who didn't deserve it, and those who did. But, as you told him, the fact that he immediately owned up to everything that he had done without any kind of hesitation showed you that he did care about what he had done.

"She's right, son. After all… you ain't the only one who did some messed up things."

Lucas perked up a bit upon hearing the deeper voice, and he turned his head to see his father walking down the stairs that led from the inside of the house. He made his way over to the oak, and then glanced behind him to see that Marguerite wasn't far behind him.

"Mama? Dad? You guys are here, too?"

"That's right. We got here a while before you did, son. And before I say anythin' else, I wanna say how sorry I am. That girl made us do things to each other that we would have never done. Your mama and I… we've both done things that were horrible. So you're not the only one who's done bad things here."

Jack dropped down, taking a seat upon the grass beside you and his son. Marguerite stood beside her husband, her hand resting gently upon his head as she sighed softly.

"Exactly. Whatever that little girl did to us was something we had no control over at all. We may not have acted on our own like you did, but that don't excuse what we did, either. Jack and I should have been able to resist her, especially when it came to our family. But… we couldn't. And you, Lucas, you suffered the worst out of all of us. Takin' what your father and I did to you, havin' Eveline take ( _ **Name**_ ) from you in such a horrible way… and everythin' before that, too. We can't say we're proud of your actions outside her control, but we can say that we're proud of you for comin' forward about it and admittin' what you did. You're still our son, and we still love you, just like ( _ **Name**_ ) does."

Lucas's eyes wandered from his mother, to his father, and finally to you. He felt like such a child—being held by you whilst he was bawling his eyes out about what he had done. But hearing reassurance from those around him made him feel much better, and eventually, he managed to calm himself down. For a long while, you all sat around the tree in the front yard in silence, simply listening to the wind rustling the leaves of the trees around the estate. After a while, however, Lucas spoke.

"So then, what is this place?"

"Well, son… your mama and I think this is what was waitin' for us after we passed on. The more we thought about it, the more clear it became to us—this is our own lil' patch of Heaven. We had all we needed right here, so that's where we came after we died. Look at the house, too. Ain't nothin' wrong with it at all now. I'm sure you noticed the gate don't squeak any more, either."

Lucas looked over at the estate, and as his father had said, there was nothing wrong with it at all. No cracks or splinters in the wooden beams that lined the house, the stairs that led up to the front door were no longer bent in from years of being walked on, and the windows were almost as though they were brand new. He hummed softly to himself, then turned his head slightly to be able to look up at you.

"I don't care where we are, honestly. As long as I'm with you again, that's all that matters to me."

You gave a small smile, then leaned down to place a soft kiss upon the top of his head. He was right—as long as you were together again, that's all that mattered to you. You rose to your feet, your hand gripping Lucas's own as you tugged him upright alongside you. You didn't know what the future would bring, if there was any future at all within this place. But if everything was to be like this forever, you most certainly wouldn't mind it. Now together again with the family who loved you, save Zoe, the four of you began to make your way back into the estate. You had to admit it would be different without Zoe around, but you knew she would be along when the time was right.

Three years ago, everything changed for the worse. Now, you were right back where you left off before that day. And you couldn't be happier.

=Fin=

Author's Note (1): This ending was highly debatable—I was tempted not to do it, but then I figured I had tortured poor Lucas enough. I wanted to give him some kind of closure. That being said, I'd appreciate it if no arguments or whatnot erupted from exactly how this ended.

Author's Note (2): Finding a way to justify Lucas's actions after taking the serum was incredibly hard—so it ended up ending on a neutral note. It wasn't condemned, but it wasn't fully forgiven either.

Author's Note (3): Jack is in this place after his passing caused by Ethan. If you haven't played the End of Zoe DLC, stop reading here or risk being spoiled. I know that Jack is around in the DLC, but quite honestly, his conscious self died a long time ago. It was more so his body that survived as long as the DLC, rather than his soul and conscious.

Author's Note (4): Some might be wondering why I chose to have Lucas stay sane throughout most of the story, and the answer it quite simple. Meeting you changed everything. In the words of the "Daughters" DLC: "sometimes even a small, wandering step can change your course altogether." In this case, having you in his life gave Lucas a reason to resist his urges and temptations.

Author's Note (5): Writing this story has truly been an experience. To all of you who have made it this far, I thank you. You guys have made writing this all the more fun, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love each and every one of you.


End file.
